Behind and Before

"You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me."
 -Psalm 139: 5

"The LORD your God who goes before you will himself FIGHT for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.
 -Deuteronomy 1: 30-33

     It's mid-afternoon on a random Monday in March and I'm sitting in Caribou Coffee where I am again reminded of the Lord's faithfulness and commitment to me.
In a time where I haven't even known how to describe how I've been emotionally and spiritually.The Lord has met me, His daughter, right where I am at today, drinking my iced coffee.


      I've been hearing Jesus say over and over again the past few weeks... "Lauren, Be Still. TRUST ME. Really, I promise I am here and in control. Though I seem distant and you may not FEEL me close by. I am here. Pour your heart out before me. I am your refuge. (Psalm 62:8) I LOVE you and am committed to you! (Isaiah 43) TRUST. ME." Yet, like the Israelites I turned from the gentle commands of the Lord. I presumptuously go up into the hill country and decide time and time again to depend on my human self, like the Israelites in Deuteronomy 1.


The words God spoke to Moses in Deuteronomy 2:7 jumped off the page today and humbled I was again.


" For LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing."

I am so thankful for the intimate moments that the Lord speaks to me. Gently, quietly, and in moments that often seem so random. He knows what I need, exactly when I need it. He is a great God.                        


Despite circumstances that may seem hopeless at times. 
HE IS GOOD.


-L-