God's Promises: He Is on Our Side

 

Photo by Rudy and Peter Skitterians


Any time we go through difficult circumstances—loss of a loved one, a failed dream, the betrayal of a friend, financial difficulty, just a general sense of being lost, etc.—we are presented with the question of where God is in the midst of that and how we are going to view these events in relation to God’s goodness. While I have had seasons where I started out strong and was able to weather many challenges with a lens of God’s goodness still being present with me, at some point, as I think can happen to us all at some time or another, circumstances and painful emotions seemed to overtake me like an unrelenting wave pounding me into the sand. I knew with my head that God was good, but I certainly didn’t feel like His goodness and mercy were pursuing me all the days of my life. Sometimes, we walk out in faith things that we don’t feel. This is our persevering benefit of the doubt in the relationship. Yet, there is something to say about the need to recover the feeling that God, indeed, is on our side.

In my case, my greatest obstacle was being able to discern how spiritual/religious authorities and their treatment of me had muddled my idea of how God saw me. It took some time to separate a free and mysterious God from the people who claimed to be a voice of God who treated me in ways that didn’t reflect His goodness. I knew with my head the truth of the Word, but I was still experiencing so much pain from how I’d been treated that that pain spilled out and colored how I felt the Lord viewed me. During that process, I spent some time avoiding God in the tender places that mattered. I was still persevering with head knowledge through reading the Bible and spiritual disciplines, but I didn’t feel like I was ready to spend time with the Person of God though I wasn’t sure why. I can remember washing dishes one day and hearing God from out of the blue say, “You’re avoiding Me.” And I tentatively answered, “Yeah, I know, but I’m not sure why.” “It’s because you’re afraid I might say to you the same things that so-so said to you.” After much distance and silence and avoidance, that little exchange provided the needed crack of an open door to realize that I had let someone else paint God and His feelings toward me into a box. If I was to get well, I had to let Him out of that box and give Him the chance to prove me otherwise about His love toward me. That season was a few years ago, and since then, it’s been an ongoing process of recovering not just the belief in the truth but the experience of the truth that God is on my side.

Here are some verses that hold up that truth:

Psalm 5:12 – "For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield." (HCSB)

Psalm 84:11-12 – “For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.” (NIV)

Job 42:2 – “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (NIV)

Psalm 37:4 – “Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most." (TPT)

Psalm 145:17-20 – “You are fair and righteous in everything you do, and your love is wrapped into all your works. You draw near to those who call out to you, listening closely, especially when their hearts are true. Every one of your godly lovers receives even more than what they ask for. For you hear what their hearts really long for and you bring them your saving strength. God, you watch carefully over all your lovers like a bodyguard, but you will destroy the ungodly." (TPT)

As you read these verses today, I would invite you to let them lead you to an experience. Don’t just read about God being your shield. In your mind’s eye, think of an area in your life where you feel exposed and in danger. Go to that experience in your head and then imagine the Lord showing up as that shield around you. Every time you feel anxiety in that place, take a moment to imagine God surrounding you as a shield. Just that mindfulness can be so transformative in making scripture become an experience rather than words on a page. Ask yourself, “When I think about my day, what are my expectations?” Do you live an experience of anticipating God giving you favor and keeping close to you throughout your day? Or do you anticipate everything that is going to go wrong and how everything rests on your shoulders? Just taking note of your thought patterns and asking yourself and the Holy Spirit, “Why do I think this way?” can be a crack of a door open to begin to process with the Lord where that thought pattern comes from and to walk toward a healing experience.

When God promises us that He is on our side and extends us His favor, those are not just a collection of letters on a page. They are experiences we’re allowed to walk into, swim around in, breathe in, and feel deeply. If that experience feels far from you, start there. Follow the thread in asking why you feel God is distant or unloving or disapproving toward you. Even processing pain and asking questions is an act of intimacy. Persevere in pursuing closeness so that you can experience His favor in your heart rather than just knowing it as a textbook in your head.