God Is For You

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

One of the popular worship songs of today is called The Blessing. Written by Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe and Steven Furtick, The Blessing is based on the priestly blessing that was to be prayed over God’s people as recorded in the book of Numbers.

In addition to these words, there is a statement as the song develops that is repeated over and over again for emphasis. “He is for you.” Although I can’t confirm it, I feel confident that the writers based this part of the song on the wonderful promise that Paul records in Romans 8 that God is for us.

I heard that song again on Sunday, and it caused me to think about what it means that God is for us. The first image that came to mind is that of sports’ fans in a great arena cheering their team to victory. They are for their team. Well, sort of. At least as long as they are winning. For I’ve heard home team fans move from cheering to booing when their team is performing poorly on the field.

Sadly, we sometimes think that this is how God is for us. We tell ourselves that when we are performing well and do as we should, God is for us. But if we fall short, if our flesh yields to temptation, if we don’t act as we know we should, then we are convinced that God is no longer for us and is instead shouting divine boos from heaven.

This performance trap sets us up for profound discouragement. We may even convince ourselves that we aren’t up to living the Christian life or worse that we aren’t really followers of Christ at all. We can’t even meet our own expectations for ourselves much less God’s expectations. It’s no wonder then why we’re convinced that God couldn’t be for us. We’re not even sure that we are for ourselves.

But this Advent season reminds us that God knew our helpless state and sent His son to rescue us. He did so completely outside of our performance. Why? Because He loved us. That’s why He is for us.

So on those days when you feel less than Christian, when doubt seems to be overcoming your faith, when you don’t want to pray or worship or even turn your face toward Him, remember this: God is for you. Hear that again. God is for you. Yes, you. He is for you. Your name is written on His heart. And He will never stand against you.

Receive the blessing.

“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-16