Great News for You!

If the LORD had not been on our side…
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:1, 8

Are you facing problems that seem insurmountable?

Are you feeling overwhelmed or afraid?

If so, I have good news for you. And this is good news even if your life is going pretty well right now.

Here it is: The Lord is on your side. That’s right. The Lord is on your side! What’s more, your help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124 begins by wondering how it would have gone for Israel if the Lord had not been on their side. Without God, the children of Israel would have been swallowed alive, engulfed by the flood (124:2-5). But the fact is that God was on the side of his people, and he still is today.

That’s good news, to be sure. Now, the fact that God is on our side does not mean that we won’t ever go through challenges, heartaches, and sufferings. These things do come upon God’s faithful people. Yet, the truth is that God will use all things, even very hard things, for our good. As it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Admittedly, it is sometimes difficult to see how God is working for good. But the truth of God’s goodness remains and will ultimately prevail.

God’s help isn’t only for times of great difficulty and pain, however. God is with us each day, each moment. God will help us when we’re working on a spreadsheet, serving a customer, trying to understand an aging parent, nursing a baby, or doing our algebra homework. God will help us as we seek his justice, empower the poor, or share the gospel with our colleagues. No matter the circumstance, no matter the setting, we can ask the Lord for help, confident that he is on our side.

Something to Think About:

Does it seem to you that God is on your side?

How have you experienced God’s help in big ways? In small ways?

How do you need God’s help today?

Something to Do:

As you take on the tasks before you today, ask for God’s help. Pay attention to where and how God is present in your life today.

Prayer:

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Day-star, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart

Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day. Amen.

John Wesley, “Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies,” 1740. Public domain.

Explore more at The High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project:
Best of Daily Reflections: If Not for You, God