“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” ~ Psalm 118:6
Another year is finished. It may have not gone the way you had planned or hoped, but it has passed. Very few of us would have predicted it to go the way it did. Now the days of the past year are inscribed as unchangeable history for each one of us and we stand at the brink of a new year.
No one knows what the year ahead holds for them. God has wisely kept personal details of our future a secret, and forbids us from attempting to pry into it. He does so for good reason. He desires us to put our faith in Him and trust Him to guide us through the journey of life. For those who are His redeemed children, God has promised “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. With such a promise at this the Bible goes on to say, “we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb 13:5,6).
No one knows what the future holds. Will governments place further restrictions on our freedoms? Will we continue to enjoy civil and religious liberties as we have known? Will church leaders be compliant in these attacks against our freedoms by further compromise of the Gospel? Or will this be the time for God’s judgment on sinful nations and compromising, worldly churches when He removes those blessings from us? Most of us have never had to face these kinds of questions and such uncertainty can create much fear in hearts.
The psalmist looked to the future with confidence because he could say, “The Lord is on my side”. Literally, “God is for me!” If God is for you, then you have no reason to fear. If God is for you, then you have no reason to worry. If God is for you then all is right! As Paul exclaimed, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). Such confidence can only come from being right with the Lord. Neither the Christ-rejector nor the disobedient Christian has this confidence. God is against all sin and wickedness, but the same God who hates sin also loves sinners. In mercy He sent His Son to take God’s wrath against sin upon Himself so that all who turn from sin and put their trust in Him will be given eternal life.
If God is for you, then you need not fear and no one can destroy the peace and confidence that He gives His own.