Psalm 139:5-6 says: “You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

What does it meaning of being hemmed in? A dictionary will tell you it means to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc); form an edge or border on or around. To enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around, or about.)

These words “you hem me in” should give us great comfort God our Creator, and our Savior has hemmed us in he surrounds us at every moment of the day or night, it is like being in a perpetual hug from God. We are never alone. No matter what comes our way God is with us.

The knowledge that God thinks we are so important that he surrounds us at all times is so much more than words can say.
If the enemy comes at us, he has to ask permission from the one standing guard. Does that not make even our trials seem easier. God watches our every move and hears our every word.

There is protection in this as well. While he is hemming us in, we get to go about doing our daily lives with an assurance that if we start to make a wrong turn in our life His sweet Holy Spirit will quicken us, and warn us of the choices we are making.

As we are being hemmed in on all sides we can almost hear the heartbeat of God, He is so close to us; it is never meant to be a scary thing, or make us feel like we are being confined. No, my friends, there is freedom in this hemming in.

We have freedom in Christ. The boundaries he gives us are for our protection not to make us feel like we cannot live and experience life. God wants us to enjoy life. He has given us numerable pleasure to see and do. He is not an uptight task master trying to spoil all our fun, but he is, however, a God who desires to see us grow in our walk daily, listening to the Holy Spirit, studying his word and obeying his laws.

When we tell our children not to do something it is usually because we have “been there done that” and we know the consequences of those actions and want to help our children avoid the same or worse consequences, and sometimes age itself brings its own wisdom of the do’s and don’ts. What kind of parents would we be if we did not “hem in” our children to a certain degree? Especially as they are growing and maturing. We want to guide them along their way for their own protection. Unlike parents, God never stops hemming us in. He continues to surround us all the way to heaven. Isn’t that awesome! We do not even have to worry about what will happen when we die, God is with us and has promised to see us all the way home.

Usually, if we are feeling claustrophobic it is because we are doing something outside of the will of God, or we are caught up in some kind of sin or decision that in our heart of hearts we know is wrong. Our conscience gets the best of us and we try to fight against this “hug of God” that before was bringing us comfort. Been there done that, learned my lesson. You?

So, in conclusion, I would encourage you to lean in close, listen to his heart, enjoy is constant embrace and live with the joyous knowledge of just how special you are to God!