PSALM 56:9 – “Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.”

THEME OF THE DAY: GOD IS FOR US. This is just too precious and soul-warming not to share. It comes from a pretty beat-up and yellow-paged book I own titled The Believer’s Daily Remembrance by the Reverend James Smith. It was likely published in the mid-1800’s and is a devotional consisting of two volumes; one for the morning and one for the evening. In my humble opinion, this devotional makes the top three of the best devotionals available. It is right up there with Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening and Daily with the King by Pastor Glyn Evans.

Here is what Pastor Smith wrote for the morning of February 10th . . .

“Beloved, the greatest mercy a sinner can enjoy is to have God on his side, engaged in his quarrel, and employed in his most important concerns; this mercy is yours. God is for you. He chose you in Christ before the world began. He formed you to show forth his praise. He preserved you in Christ until He called you by grace. He quickened you by His Spirit, and led you to Jesus. He has given you His Son, and promised every additional good. He has said to you, ‘Thou art Mine.’ You have said, ‘I am Thine.’ He is now your refuge and strength; He is tenderly concerned for your welfare, devotedly attached to your cause, and observes every step you take. He may try your faith, but will certainly supply your wants. He may exercise your patience, but will never turn a deaf ear to your cries, except you indulge iniquity in your heart. No parent ever felt so deeply interested in the welfare of a beloved child, as thy God does in thine. He says, ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee the right hand of my righteousness.’ Trust such a promise, who can fail!”

One of the chief tactics of the devil is to get us to view God, even build our understanding of Him, through the never reliable means of our changing circumstances. If life is going fairly well, we may find praising and thanking God rather easy. We boldly boast of confidence in His love and trust in His promises when the spiritual seas in our lives are calm. But let a storm come . . . a prodigal child, a lukewarm spouse, a financial crisis, a serious medical issue, or strained relationships of some kind among friends, family, and in our churches. What happens now? The turbulent spiritual seas begin to churn up doubts of God’s love. We are tempted to question, “Why is this happening to me?” or “Why am I not sensing God’s love and protection?” or “Is He not for me?” It is dangerously easy to define what God is like through our circumstances instead of knowing Him as He truly is in our circumstances. If the former defines us, we are like the ever-changing tides in our spiritual experiences.

The only possible way to ensure we don’t build our theology of God on our circumstances is to consistently renew our minds with the truth of who God is as revealed in the scriptures. And this isn’t easy. It will require disciplined time in the Word to change our thinking patterns (Romans 12:1-2). It will require “mental gymnastics” to diligently put off the lies of the devil and circumstances in their attempts to create an impression in our thinking of an angry or disinterested God (Ephesians 4:17-24). By the way, this is true spiritual warfare; the battle for a godly mind. Basically, in order to prevent having a God defined by our circumstances and changing as they do, the Word of God must control our minds enabling us to be guided throughout our days by Biblical thinking, not circumstantial thinking. If we want to live with confident conviction and spiritual stability with the right concept of God, we must cultivate the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). And we can do this. The process begins with desire turning into discipline; a discipline to have our minds filled and shaped by the truth of who God is in the scriptures, not the false God easily contrived through our circumstances.

PRAYER: Lord, I praise You for Your unending love for me that never wavers despite my proneness of heart to waver.

REFLECTION: Let the truth of God being always for us causes us to be more diligent to live pleasing to Him.