God is On Your Side

Overwhelmed; totally consumed by all that was happening around me, but mostly all that was happening to me. Fear gripped me. I was losing my footing and the threat of slipping all together was just about too much to bear. I had no idea what I was going to do. I had no idea where I was going to go. Loneliness surrounded me; so completely lost and nowhere to turn. Depression set in; there is no hope for me. I will never get out of this pit. These are the thoughts that crossed my mind again and again when I lost my job, and every time I was reminded of the mistakes I have made, and how I had failed. While I didn’t have a physical enemy in the sense that David did, I still felt as if I was being hounded day and night by my very own enemy. I will tell you that most of these thoughts are not true. That is, they are lies fed to me by Satan, meant to keep me right where he wanted me. In these days, I turned away from God. I wasn’t seeking him. I wasn’t praying to him. I believed he was angry with me and that he was punishing me. Both of which were also lies. God was not at all surprised by the sin that lead me to lose my job, my apartment, my independence. He knew it was going to happen. So, how could he be angry with me? He loves me so much that instead of turning his back on me, when I turned my back on him, he stood back and waited for me to realize how much I needed him. He sent people in my life to remind me that he was good all the time. He sent people to encourage me and to direct me to his Word. It was there that I found what I had been looking for, hope. David had hope. He trusted God. All his confidence was in him and his promises. Even when the world seemed to be against him, David never lost sight of God. He kept his eyes firmly focused on him. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” (3-4) David knew that he could trust God to take care of him. He knew that even in the midst of seemingly terrifying and difficult circumstances, God was on his side. He was not afraid to cry out to God every time he needed him and he recognized that he needed him all the time. “My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know; God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised. Yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” (9-11) God is on your side too. He is not against you. He is not out to make you fail. He doesn’t laugh at you when you do. If you have turned from him, he is waiting for you with open arms. He loves you deeply, no matter what you have done and no matter where you have been he will never take his love away from you. If you are overwhelmed and struggling right now, cry out to him. He hears your cries. He knows what you are going though. Are you going to continue to try to handle everything in your own strength, or are you going to trust God with your life? He will take care of you. “For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light” (13)