When God is For You

Edinburgh Royal Castle

     When I was a little girl, my Grandfather Engel would read to me from the Bible as I sat on his lap. I didn’t understand all the words, but I remember that the Bible was his most important read of the day.  He loved Psalm 27:1:  “The Lord is my light and salvation - whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?” These words sustained him for many years.  My mother told me that he had a heart condition that doctors could not treat in those days, so he truly lived by faith in God’s goodness each day.  There are so many other verses like this one that provide comfort to believers and it is good to remind ourselves daily that God is for us not against us.

     Yesterday as I was looking at my social media feed, someone posted Isaiah 54:17:  “…no weapon that
is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”  What beautiful words of comfort to God’s people!  This promise for God’s people offers peace to us in the middle of a world that has seemingly gone crazy.  When Jesus said to His disciples “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27), it was an affirmation that believers in Christ can take to heart.  Later in John 16:33, He says:  “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take courage; I have overcome the world.”  In these verses, we have the promise of peace not a promise of no trouble, suffering or heartache.  However, through the difficulties, His peace will be there deep in our souls.

     When I think about a great example of someone who really believed God was with them, I cannot fail to mention Corrie Ten Boom who knew the severe trial of a concentration camp.  She and her sister who were imprisoned for hiding Jews in their clock shop during WWII experienced horrible conditions but found the opportunity to share the Gospel with other prisoners.  Corrie’s sister died in the camp, but God miraculously had Corrie released by clerical error.  Through it all, she found her strength in the Lord and a peace which helped her through the pain and suffering.  God used Corrie as she traveled the world telling others about Christ.  God was for her, in her and with her.

     In his letter to the Romans in chapter 8, Paul points out how God is, indeed, for us.  Verse 1 says:  “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  These glorious words assure us that our faith in Christ has freed us from condemnation for our sins.  This world system may condemn us, but we are free from that before God.  As we continue to read this chapter, Paul points out that Christ suffered and died then rose from the dead for us and our sins.  We are now children of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided “we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (vs.17b).  He continues in verse 31 by saying:  “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Once again, we have another assurance that God loves us.  After all, He gave His Son that we might be saved.  As he draws the chapter to a close, Paul once again reminds us that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God in verses 38-39.  He calls us more than conquerors.  This is a chapter of Scripture we should remind ourselves of often.  

     God is for us, with us and lives by the power of the Holy Spirit in believers.  In whatever situation we find ourselves today, we need to rejoice in this wonderful news.  We are never alone and nothing can ever separate us from His love and care.  The world system may want to chew us up and spit us out for not walking in their path, but we have the Creator of the Universe as our steady companion, friend and Father.  He has given us all we need for life and godliness.  Live in that knowledge today!  Selah!