We have a dog in our neighborhood that’s a fence jumper. Every so often, even with the gate shut, he just appears in the backyard. He’s friendly enough, but we worry what might happen if he gets in when our two little dogs are out.
We thought we had the problem solved. Our super-athletic trespasser liked to jump the one section of our fence that was four feet tall, so we replaced it with a six foot wooden privacy fence. We now have a tall fence around our whole backyard. “That should do it,” I told my wife.
But wouldn’t you know, one day we looked out and there he was: standing on the back patio laughing at himself in the window. What kind of dog gets over a six foot privacy fence?!
This has to be yet another metaphor for life. We build fences around our circumstances to control them. And then, when something breaches our puny perimeter, we build better ones.
Yet sometimes, no matter how hard we try, IT still happens. They make LifeProof cases for phones, but not for the human condition. And when something jumps the ‘fence’ and laughs at itself in the window, it’s easy to feel violated, unsafe and unsure about the future.
Enter God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, who most certainly understands humans.
He became one.
Psalm 139 makes it crystal clear: the Lord knows more about you and me than all the data mining companies of Silicon Valley combined!
As it turns out, He’s a fence builder too.
You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:5
King David doesn’t mention sideways, but surely the Almighty has that covered as well.😀🙏
From the sounds of Psalm 139, and other similar scriptures, God never looks in on one of His children and says, “Well, would you look at that?!”
So friend, can we agree that whatever we’re facing right now—be it good, bad or ugly—God saw it coming and knows what to do about it?
His Word is His bond.
Here are a few go-to promises I turn to when I’m ‘on the fence’ about God’s protection and provision:
“What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
Please share your favorite scripture about God’s watch-care over us, if you’d like.
For another story about setting boundaries, that also involves an uninvited animal on our property, please see “Cat”astrophe.
