The Lord is for me! I am free!

For the past two days, I’ve been meditating on these words and drawing huge encouragement from them. Last night, while speaking at South Delta Baptist Church’s annual Strawberry Tea, I told about their impact on my outlook when facing frightening situations.  Then I walked the women through a simple exercise that I hope will help them remember and apply Truth when they feel afraid.

First, I asked them to say the words, “the Lord is for me.” Then together and aloud, we put the emphasis on Lord.

“Who is the Lord?” I asked my audience. “He’s the creator of heaven and earth! The one who spoke the universe into being! This amazing God—the one for whom nothing is impossible—He’s the one who is for you! Why, then, should we fear?”

Next, I asked them to repeat the phrase while placing emphasis on for. “God is cheering for us,” I said. “He doesn’t sit in heaven and wait for us to fail so He can clobber us. He wants us to do well in life, so He’s given us His word to show us how to live. He loves us with an unfailing love. We can trust Him and His ways even when we don’t understand them because He’s for us, not against us.”

Last, I asked the audience to repeat the phrase while stressing me. “Sometimes I feel as though God loves other people more than He loves me,” I said. “Sometimes I doubt His love for me because I feel unlovable or ‘way too insignificant to matter to Him. Yet this Scripture says He loves me. He knows me through and through, and He still loves me like crazy. The same is true for you. Why then, if God loves us so much, are we plagued by fear?”

Good question, eh? How would you answer that one?

I pray that this simple exercise will stick with these women for the rest of their lives. Why don’t you give a whirl?

• The Lord is for me.
• The Lord is for me.
• The Lord is for me.

How do these three truths impact you today?

Moses gave them some good advice: “Do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little…the Lord your God will hand them over to you” (v. 21-23). Then he told them to remember the great things God had done for them in the past (vv. 18,19).

When we feel afraid, we ought to remember that our God is great and awesome. He’s more than capable of driving out the enemies we face. He’s been faithful in the past, and He’ll be faithful in the present. We find courage when we focus on who He is rather than on whatever is frightening us.

What enemies are you facing today? Doubt, perhaps? Fear of an unknown future? Fear of financial insecurity? Marriage problems? Poor health? Whatever it is, God is bigger. No enemy can overpower you when God is on your side, my friend.