Drawing from David’s life as a shepherd and later as Israel’s king, this devotional paints a beautiful picture of God's care. Just as shepherds built protective hedges around their sheep at night and positioned themselves as the gate, God lovingly surrounds us with His protection. He doesn't simply guard us from afar—He walks beside us, shielding us from the enemy's lies while gently directing our steps through every season of life.

When anxiety tempts us to rely on our own understanding, we can rest knowing we are never navigating life alone. God's hand remains upon us, leading us with wisdom, protecting us from danger, and giving us the freedom to follow Him with confidence. We don't have to live in fear or constantly anticipate every possible threat because our Good Shepherd has already gone before us.

Highlights:

God surrounds His children with His loving presence, protection, and guidance.
Psalm 139 reminds us that God is always before us, behind us, and actively involved in our lives.
David's experience as a shepherd illustrates God's protective care like a hedge surrounding His sheep.
God's presence guards us against fear, anxiety, and the enemy's deception.
We can trust God's gentle guidance instead of relying solely on our own understanding.
Because God walks with us, we are free to follow Him without living in constant fear.

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When have you experienced God's protection or guidance during a season of uncertainty? How does remembering that God surrounds you with His presence give you peace today?

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Full Transcript Below:

Encased by the Father’s Love

By Jennifer Slattery

Bible Reading:
You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me. - Psalm 139:5 NIV

This has been an unsettling and confusing season where I’ve questioned my perspective and the path forward in a highly consequential area. I know God is leading, watching over, and blessing me, but my emotions don’t always align with what I know is true. Sometimes, at night, when I’m trying to sleep, the stress and unknowns of this situation pull me into an anxious spiral. In that space, there’s a part of me that fears getting pulled into the devil’s deception, in part because I recognize how easy it is to convince myself that following my preference is God’s leading.

That’s a dangerous place to be. It leaves me vulnerable to the enemy’s schemes. Yet, today’s verse reminds me that I’m well-protected by the One who knows me, remains with me, and shields me from what Scripture calls the devil's “flaming arrows.” Lies he aims at my soul to draw me away from Christ and His life-giving truth.

David, ancient Israel’s second king who wrote the passage from which today’s verse comes, understood how it feels to find yourself under attack—by the devil, and those he uses to carry out his will. For over a decade, he lived as a fugitive, hiding in caves and even in Philistine territory, for fear of death. During that season, numerous people betrayed him, and he often felt alone and as if no one cared about him.

Those were the statements his emotions made when life felt hard, exhausting, and his situation uncertain.

But even when his heart cried out for relief, he recalled the truth. He knew how to preach to his soul, a practice we see in many of the poetic prayers preserved in Scripture.

Scholars believe he wrote Psalm 139 after he’d assumed the throne and his life became more stable—with a few bumps along the way. Standing on the other side of intense suffering, he was able to look back and reflect upon how God had remained present and faithful each moment of his life—from before he took his first breath.

The Lord didn’t guide him from a distance. He came close and surrounded David with His strong, loving, and protective presence.

God “hemmed” David in. In the original Hebrew, one could state today’s verse as: Behind and before you have hedged me and laid upon me Your hand.” You may have heard the phrase, “a hedge of protection.” That analogy likely came from today’s verse. And I wonder if David’s statement came from his experience as a shepherd, where, at night, he would’ve created a literal hedge of thorns and branches that formed a makeshift pen for the sheep under his care. For added protection, the shepherd often slept on the ground, forming a gate with his body.

Intersecting Life & Faith:

This rich historic imagery, when applied to today’s text, reminds us that the Lord surrounds us like those thorny branches that surrounded sheep. He is our shield, strong tower, fortress, and defense who hides us in the shadow of His wings—another picturesque symbol of His protective stance over His children.

But notice, He also places His hand upon us. Whenever I read this, I’m reminded of how I guided and protected my daughter when she was learning to walk. She’d gone from strangle-gripping my finger to releasing my hand and toddling off in exploration. I wanted to give her as much freedom as developmentally appropriate while also keeping her from falling into sharp corners or getting too close to the stairs.

My solution? To place a gentle hand on her head, remaining alert to when I needed to direct her from danger and back to safe exploration.

Speaking of sheep, shepherds, gates, and exploration reminds me of Jesus’ analogy in John 10, when He said His sheep would go in—to the pen—and out to find pasture. His words speak of freedom and the rhythm of coming into the “sheepfold” for the spiritual nourishment and rest we need, then leaving to explore the wide-open spaces He’s provided.

But even when we exit the pen, we remain well-protected, whether the threat comes from the devil and his minions or some other frightening or dangerous encounter. God hems us in—by His power and love.

By His very self.

This gives me the peace to follow, knowing I don’t have to remain hyper vigilant, scanning the horizon for every possible threat. I simply need to remain in step with the One who matches His steps with mine.

Further Reading:
Psalm 139:1-24
Psalm 125:2

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