By Pastor Anthony L. Scott
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
(Romans 8:31, NASB)
Are you feeling like nothing good ever happens to you? Have you ever wondered why it seems someone else is having the day you wanted? Perhaps, you’re thinking, why doesn’t God love me the way He does others? I have some helpful news for you. The feelings of isolation, loneliness, abandonment, and misfortune that you feel are nothing more than our common foe attempting to create a separation between your plight and God’s concern which frankly does not exist.
The Apostle Paul gives you and me some positive, powerful, and impactful words that will alter the course of your day and your week. He poses a rhetorical question that I invite you to consider, “If God is for us, who is against us?”
So many are wounded, broken, and in desperate need for God to heal their heart as well as their emotions. You’ve come to work with a smile pasted on your face. It’s all you can do to wear your smile because underneath you are masking the pain and wondering if anything is ever going to change.
We all must come to the understanding that God is On Our Side. In fact, here are three suggestions to aid your ability to grasp this vital truth for living.
The first suggestion is to fully grasp your relationship with Him. We have the tendency to only view God as a lawgiver or an authority figure telling us what not to do. We fail to realize that those who tell us not to do something are really just expressing their love. God didn’t give us the Ten Commandments so we would have a bunch of rules to follow. God knew there would be consequences if we failed to abide by them. We don’t stop loving our children when we correct or discipline. We don’t warn our children to keep away from fire or drugs to ruin their fun. From a heart of love flow rules and guidelines to live by so that life can be lived as intended.
The second suggestion is to grasp your position in Him. Your position in Christ is a necessary key to knowing that God Is On Your Side. As children of God we have access to a name that is mightier than any internal or external foe. In John 14:13-14, Jesus said, whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” You are not a nobody. You’re not just a member of a church. You are a member of the family of God and therefore you matter to heaven.
The last suggestion is to grasp and know God’s commitment to you. Being redeemed by the Savior’s blood means you are in a covenant relationship with God. From the moment you received Christ’s offer and provision of salvation by faith, God established a blood relationship with you that He will never break. No matter what you may by facing or how dark it may seem, God Is On Your Side. God has such great love for you that He expressed it by giving His very best for your sake through the person of His Son Jesus Christ. You can only come to grips with God being On Your Side when you are able to comprehend the depth that God loves you.
May these truths help to motivate and give momentum to the beginning of your week.
Pastor Scott
