besieged

We have a warrior God. I heard a pastor say once that when it comes to spiritual warfare, the battle is not against us, but over us.  We are the spoils of war. The Lord is ever warring with the enemy for the salvation and transformation of His children.

This truth came alive as I read Psalm 139. Verse 5 says, “You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” I looked up the word “hem” in the original language, and discovered that it’s more of a battle term than a sewing term.

It means to press in, to confine, to besiege.  In His great love and passion, the Lord presses in to communicate with us. To protect us. To influence us.  His desire is to confine us to His presence so that we are never alone. He literally besieges our hearts, wanting to invade every empty and broken place so that He can bring healing and transformation.

The enemy wants to besiege us as well, with his lies and accusations. He wants to confine us with shame and bitterness. He wants to lay siege to our hearts in order to destroy us. What comfort we receive in knowing that God presses in first and foremost. We hold to the truth that we “are from God and have overcome (evil), because the one who is in (us) is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)