GOD SURROUNDS US; EVEN NOW!

GOD SURROUNDS US, EVEN NOW!

My name is “OLUYINKA”, and it is a beautiful name even if I have to say so myself.

“OLUYINKA” means the Lord is round about me or the Lord surrounds me. I do not know exactly why my father (of blessed memory) chose to call me that; perhaps before my birth, he had an experience where God had shown Himself to be around him on every side. But I am glad he called me Oluyinka because for me, this name has always been my reality and on more than one occasion God has shown that he is round about me on every side.

The real inspiration for this name though is from the very word of God. “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.”  Psalms 125: 2 KJV

“Jerusalem is located roughly in the middle of a range of low mountains running north to south throughout central Israel between the Mediterranean and the Jordan Valley, stretching from the Jezreel Valley in the north all the way to Beer Sheva in the south. Topographically, Jerusalem is not built ON a mountain. Rather, it is built IN the mountains, and the city is, in fact, surrounded by seven mountain peaks higher than itself. That’s right! This ancient psalm composed by a passionate and spiritually minded worship leader thousands of years ago, is actually a very accurate geographical description of the entire holy region.” Mountains Surrounding Jerusalem | A Biblical Overview of Jerusalem’s location (sareltours.com)

So this is the thing, if Jerusalem is surrounded by seven mountains, then;

It must be the case that in order to have access to Jerusalem, one must go through at least one of the mountains.

It must be the case that Jerusalem is shielded by the mountains in such a way that if you did not know where to look, you might miss it.

It must be the case that Jerusalem is protected by the mountains so that if there was an attack the mountains would have to be hit first.

It must be the case that the comings in and goings out of Jerusalem are seen (monitored) by the seven mountains.

Now we are told that the same way the mountains are round about Jerusalem is the same way the Lord surrounds us His people. This tells me the following:

The Lord does not allow any untoward access to us.

The Lord shields us from the prying eyes of evil predators. They will not find us.

The Lord Himself stands and protects us from every danger.

The Lord is aware of everything that is going on around us.

This is extremely reassuring, especially at a time like this. Knowing that the Master and Creator of the whole universe is round about us, should give us confidence that we are safe and secure.

Let us close our eyes for a minute and imagine seven, six feet tall body guards forming a ring round about a movie star who is about four feet tall. We will not even see the movie star, let alone be able to gain any kind of access to them. But our God is bigger than any number of bodyguards put together plus He is a good God. Let us therefore focus on God’s goodness at this time and also on His words that are (the) truth. The fact is that there is a lot going on out there that is petrifying. But facts are subject to change while the truth is always the truth is always the truth. “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalms 100: 5 KJV  

And so while my name is OLUYINKA, every time someone calls me, what they are saying to themselves is that God is all around them. For this reason, I never hesitate to call out my name several times during the course of the day just to remind myself that indeed, “God surrounds me too.” So locate some OLUYINKAs around you or just christen yourself OLUYINKA too, as you proclaim that promise today.

OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS©