Grace For The Journey

   If the whole world be against me it matters not, because God is for me! These are the words of the psalmist who feared no foe; David knew he could call on his God and count on Him to crush every enemy:

“My enemies will turn back in the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me.” (Psalm 56:9)

David was inspired by the Spirit of God to write this psalm – not when the sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the clouds were fleecy – but when he was surrounded by enemies. Dear reader, no matter what obstacles, or challenges, or trials, or enemies you face today, whether in your personal life or your professional life, they will all be overcome when you call on God, because He is for you!

Truly, no mere words of any finite, fallible preacher can plumb the depths of this unimaginable truth. And yet they are indeed true; God said it, and that settles it! Your own personal experience will confirm this for you. If God was not for you, would you be where you are today?

• In your weakness . . . has He not been for you in His strength?
• In your restlessness . . . has He not been for you in His peace?
• In your storms . . . has He not been for you in His calm?
• In your pain . . . has He not been for you in His comfort?
• In your doubt . . . has He not been for you in His wisdom?
• In your shame . . . has He not been for you in His love?
• In your sin . . . has He not been for you in His forgiveness?

To say that “God is for me” is to say all that ever needs to be said! For David, this was a settled matter. The phrase “this I know” leaves no room for uncertainty or doubt. It is an eternal and immutable truth that is beyond contestation; David cried out to his God, knowing that his prayer would be heard and answered. Paul echoed this truth in his great and glorious encouragement to the Christians in Rome:

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

You may be facing challenges which seem insurmountable today, but it matters not. God is for you! God is so for you that the day came when He stood against His own Son. Picture the cross . . . hear the Son’s agonized, despairing cry – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and think on that truth for a moment.

What father could possibly turn away from his son after hearing that plea? How could the God of love forsake His beloved Son as He was hanging on that cruel cross? Because God was for us . . . even when we were against Him! We cared nothing for the things of God; they were foolishness to us (1 Corinthians 2:14). We were expanding the cause of our own kingdom and not His. We were alienated from God, thinking ourselves to be His enemies (Colossians 1:21). And yet while we were still sinners, God demonstrated how much He is for us by turning His holy hatred for our sin on His only begotten Son, the sinless God-man – putting Jesus in our place, giving Him our nails and our crown of thorns (Romans 5:8, 10).

Oh, to be able to cry out with the psalmist, “THIS I KNOW: GOD IS FOR ME!” Let that truth set you free today and every day until God brings you safely home into glory.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”