Confidence You Can Cling To
If a bully, twice your size, is picking on you, you have a reason to fear. But if you have a friend, twice the bully’s size, standing next to you, the bully has a reason to fear.
When you know that someone bigger, greater, and more powerful than your enemy has your back, confidence is the result.
Perhaps this is why the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote a letter to the believers in Rome—reminding them of the truth:
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”
Romans 8:1-2 NLT
Because the Roman believers belonged to Jesus, they no longer had to live fearfully. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him, and one day, He will make everything—including our dying bodies—brand new.
The truth about their identity emboldened Paul…
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 8:31 NLT
If the Creator and Sustainer of everything that exists has put Himself on our side, who can be against us? Who can even touch us? Who would even think about picking a fight that they ultimately could not win?
Someone might hurt our feelings or even our bodies, but they cannot touch our souls. They cannot come against the living God and succeed. They cannot turn against God’s chosen people without answering for their decisions. This means that whatever wrong has been done to us can be left in God’s reliable hands.
We can rely on God as our just Defender and our righteous Judge.
When we become His by trusting in Jesus as our Savior—by grace through faith—the strongest defense in the universe, God in His fullness (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), is forever on our side.
Luke 10
“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into ...
God Is With You
The prophet Isaiah wrote the words of Isaiah 7:14 nearly 600 years before Jesus was born. At the time of this writing, the Israelites were doing all the right religious things, but weren’t practicing justice as God commands. Like many prophets during Isaiah’s time, this was a warning against that injustice. But among that warning was a glimmer of hope that God would set things right.
Here, the prophet Isaiah is giving the people of Israel a reason to hope because of God’s good promise—the promise that He will provide a sign and He will show up for us. Because that’s what Immanuel means: God with us.
But what does “God with us” mean for us today?
It means we can share in that hope by fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting in Him. We can trust that from Christ’s birth to His current reign in Heaven—Jesus is God with us.
He’s with us in our pain when we lose a loved one.
He’s with us in our anger when we see injustice and don’t know where to turn.
He’s with us ...