With God On Our Side
Opening Prayer
Loving Father God, You know the fears within me and the troubles around me. I trust in Your faithful care.
Read PSALM 124:1-8
[1] A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side- let Israel say- [2] if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, [3] when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; [4] the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, [5] the raging waters would have swept us away. [6] Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. [7] We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. [8] Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
Where did the psalmist find the needed help?What a psalm! The veteran David, who has seen it all, has spent much of his life on the run and been in hot water far too often, opens the pages of his memoirs and lets us in on his secret.
What “if the Lord had not been on our side?” (1), what hope would there have been? He paints four disaster scenes: a monster or possibly an earthquake (3), a flash flood (4,5), a wild beast savaging its prey (6), the prison that is a carefully baited trap (7)—all of them as overwhelming and irresistible as circumstances and enemies can appear to us.
David encourages us not only to look back and praise our Creator God (8), but to hold his name and faithful, mighty help firmly in our sights as we face present fears and dangers. The past experience of God’s deliverance equips and steels us for our present battles. It is all too easy to be dominated by the danger before us, trapped by fear, and to forget the One whose help is there for us. He can prevent us from being swept away by any “raging waters” (5) or help us escape from any kind of “trap” (7).
Apply
Apply this psalm to any danger or fear you face and pray for persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.
Closing prayer
Mighty Lord, when the inevitable fears and dangers strike, help me to remember Your faithfulness and trust You.
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