Locked On To Us (Daily Encouragement)
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say— if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us – Psalm 124:1-2
The Psalms of Ascent give us a picture of what it looks like to trust in and follow God. Jesus calls us his “disciples” which means we are his “followers”. In order to “follow” someone, we need to continually look at, better understand and know who it is we are following. Having a right view of God – who He has revealed himself to be through the Scriptures – is vital to following Him. These next couple days we will dive into who God has revealed himself to be in Psalm 124.
God has revealed he is The God who is on our side – he loves us
From “The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms” by Tim Keller:
Four times (verses 1, 2, 6, and 8) God is called the LORD, the God who enters into a covenant with us by grace. This unfamiliar word means his love is “locked on to us” in unending commitment. Thus he is always for us (verses 1-2). But the psalmist could not see what we see. God is ever on our side, because in Christ our sins can’t bring condemnation (Romans 8:1, 34-35). So not “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword…will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 39). Since the maker of heaven and earth is (through Christ) our help, we will not fear (verse 8). What could be against us (Romans 8:31).
Prayer: Lord, you are the covenant-keeping God. Your Son vowed to save us, and not even hell itself, coming down on him with its full force, could stop him from keeping his promise. Now make me like him. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take myself, and I will be, ever, only, all for Thee. Amen.
We have peace through any circumstance because we know that God will not only never leave us, he is on our side.