Hemmed In

[soso]

Hemmed In
Lisa Morrone, PT

Today’s Truth

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me (Psalms 139:5, NIV).

* hem in; 접어서 꼬매다
to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around.

2. to enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around, or about):

Friend to Friend

Have you ever tugged firmly on a thread /hanging from the edge of your garment, in hopes of breaking it, only to have it unravel further? Yeah, me, too.

Life can, at times, behave like that garment. [What we thought was held together securely] can unexpectedly begin to unravel. Sometimes the unraveling happens suddenly—a late night phone call, an unwanted discovery, a disappointing lab test result

—or it can happen gradually over time, like the slow fade of a dear friendship or the foundation of your marriage.

While our external circumstances can unravel, would you agree that it is most disturbing when it feels as if WE are unraveling?

In those times, not only do we doubt our capacity /to handle what’s going on in our lives, due to our “frayed state,”

but we seriously wonder if there will be anything /left of us /once the “entire thread of our sound mind has been pulled loose.”

In my book, Overcoming Overeating, I offer a journal-based navigation tool /designed to help readers identify, process through, and heal from the emotions //which keep them locked in the chains of food addiction. On a number of occasions I have heard from honest readers //who admit to me that they are fearful /to embark on this reflective, memory journey. One reader said it like this: “I am afraid that if I start crying, I will never stop.”

* embark on; begin (a course of action, especially one that is important or demanding).

The first time () I heard this persuasive lie—sent straight from the Enemy, I felt compelled to counter with the Truth.

Our main scripture today tells us () the LORD has us hemmed in—behind and before.

The purpose of the hemlines in our clothing is to keep the fabric from unraveling.

Such is the promise of GOD’s careful “stitch work:” His unwavering presence in our lives keeps US from unraveling!

* unwaver; steady or resolute;

If you are being fed a similar lie—that you won’t be able to hold it all together, that you’re sure /to lose your mind, break down, crumble — allow me to feed you some nourishing truth /directly from Scripture.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV)

You were outfitted with a sound mind…

and no one, and no circumstance, no matter how trying, can take away [what God has gifted you].

Psalm 62:2 “He alone is my protector and deliverer.
He is my refuge; I will not be upended.” (NET)

* upend; set or turn (something) on its end or upside down.

You may be “knocked into” and some of your emotional strength may be “spilled,” but you will never be completely upended (turned over and drained).

Isaiah 33:6a “He is your constant source of stability…” (NET)

You can stand firm, because He holds you firmly.

Friend, you are stronger than you think, because He is stronger than you know.

And unlike the thread in your skirt that occasionally breaks and unwinds, God’s hems hold fast forever!

* hold fast; remain tightly secured.

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, thank you that you not only knit us together in our beginning, but that you have also promised to hold “our stitching” together ‘til the end. You are strong and mighty. Let us never forget that you go before us and you are our rear guard, too.

We commit our fragile selves to you.
In the steadfast Name of Jesus Christ we pray,
Amen.