If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us . . . they would have swallowed us alive. (Ps. 124:2–3)
DANIEL STOOD BEFORE LIONS, and God closed their mouths. Esther stepped before the king, risked the death penalty, and saved her people. Israel faced an army they had no chance against, but somehow the enemy soldiers killed themselves. Paul and Silas were in prison when an earthquake broke their shackles and opened the door. Time and again, God saves His people.
The psalmist proclaimed it and called the people of God to proclaim it: Without God, we are doomed; with Him, we are saved. Written Scripture certainly supports this over and over, but the psalmist suggested that it needs to be spoken aloud, and that we need to remind ourselves of it at times.
Perhaps it’s because whenever we face a new battle, we see what looms ahead and forget all the times God has proven himself in the past. Somehow, we think this time He won’t come through. Or, maybe, over time, we forget the part He played, or we conclude it was really our own efforts, or that the issue wasn’t that big in the first place. But when we are afraid, we must recall that God can and does save even in the most impossible situations. And we can remind ourselves that we don’t have to rely on our own efforts; they might not be strong enough anyway. But God always is.
List all the amazing things God has done for you in the past.
Diane Gardner lives in the San Francisco Bay area where she enjoys theater, street fairs, and watching the sun set with her husband.
