Circle the wagons

Not many of us were around during the days of westward expansion in the United States. The vast frontier lay before would be settlers holding anticipation and excitement together with the fear and uncertainty of the unknown.

Most folks made their journey west as part of a wagon train, which offered the experience of those who knew the country and the safety of numbers. As the wagons made the journey west they would come to camp each night and ‘circle the wagons.’ The circle of wagons not only provided security from wild animals but it also built community among the pioneers.

The same strategy would be used if the wagon train was attacked by Indians or bandits; the call would go out to circle the wagons. From behind the wagons the men could take aim with their rifles to defend their families and property. Circling the wagons created a safe place in an uncertain world.

How blessed the man you train, God, the woman you instruct in your Word, Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil, while a jail is being built for the wicked.
Psalm 94:12-13 (MsgB)

I don’t know about you, but I want to be inside God’s “circle of quiet.” Our lives are still very much like those of the westward pioneers with its uncertainty and difficulties. We are never promised a life without problems or ‘smooth sailing’ to borrow another metaphor. That’s why I’m glad I can ‘circle the wagons’ around my heart and find a safe place to rest.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that my day goes better when I have taken time to pray and read God’s word. These little things help to keep me safe within God’s presence—to move out under the direction of our ‘Wagon-Master’, to ‘circle the wagons’ for a time of peace and rest, or as a secure place of defense against the enemy.

We are on a great adventure. Ours is not a journey west, but to a far better place; heaven will be our eternal home. God’s wagon train will get you there. Circle the wagons around your heart and let God’s word train you for the journey ahead.