Sunday 13 January, 2019

1 If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say— 2 if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, 3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; 4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, 5 the raging waters would have swept us away. 6 Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

David opens this Psalm, with the question, “WHAT if God had not been on our side”?

That’s not something that we think about. We always encourage each other saying that God is for us not against us. That he is our provider, he is our healer, he is our saviour, he is! It’s always he is this or he is that. He is exactly what and who we need God to be for us, whatever situation we happen to be going through.

So, in faith we hang on.

But think about it, if God was not on our side then our story would be very short. Actually we would have no story to tell. Our first trouble would also be our last. It would be all over.

Why? For God is and always has been our only hope. There is no one else that we can turn to, to move mountains, to change situations, change people.

Only God. And he IS on our side. We are still here, still going all because of God.

We can trust him because he is for us. Our faith in him will not disappoint.

Father, thank you. Thank you for being on my side, and being for me.

Written by Andrew Martin