It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.~Psalm 44:3 (NIV)

The other day I imagined myself inside a fenced-in yard. Green and lush Texas St. Augustine grass covered the area. A wrought iron table and two chairs sat under a shady oak. I sat in one of the chairs and admired a pot of red geraniums sitting on the little table. I thought to myself, "I don't want to stay here all day. There is a lot more to see just outside the gate. And the gate is not locked. All I need to do is push it open and step across the threshold to explore the neighborhood." I rose from my chair to peer through the wooden slats of the fence and I saw slivers of orange and purple flowers in the neighbor's garden. When I looked through a knothole, I observed a cute black and white dog, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, panting. But I couldn't see his whole body. I could only see the outside world in part. Why didn't I simply go over to the gate and push it open?

I think sometimes I get stuck inside the metaphorical fence because I allow fears and anxieties, dread and self-doubt, to keep me enclosed, keep me from taking risks to discover what's beyond my familiar enclosure. I believe my problems and circumstances are insurmountable, incapable of changing. I feel too weak to even push open the unlocked gate with my hands.

Then I imagine the Lord saying, "Let me help you. I'll stand behind you and place my hands over yours. I'll give you the strength to push open the gate." 

Once again I realize that it's not my self-effort, my performance, my grand problem solving that is the antidote to my insecurites and problems and fears. It is receiving Jesus' help, His support. His strength. His light. Allowing the warm pressure of His hands on mine. A fenced-in place can be a safe space, an appropriate boundary in a scary world. Yet there is so much more beyond the slats and knotholes. If we only knew!  We can win the unexplored land, have victory, because He is strong and He loves us.