On Our Side

God’s word says this in Psalms 127:1-2, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.”

Unless the Lord builds a house or ministry, business, relationships, marriage or whatever else, it would be futile.  If we have His help and He is on our side and we listen and obey what He has made clear to us, we will not labor in vain if we want to have a real fulfilled life.  I am not saying that nothing ever gets done by nonbelievers that don’t wish to have the Lord’s help, but what I am saying is that it will never be as beneficial as it would be if the Lord was a part of whatever it is.  Unless the Lord had not been on our side we would have been doomed to failure; David wrote a Psalm, or song, about this speaking to the Israelites at the time but I think we all can gain some wisdom and knowledge through this Psalm.

Please read Psalm 124:1-8, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— ‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.’ Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”

As you read these verses maybe the Red Sea experience came to mind while the Egyptians closed in on them, as the Israelites stood in front of it with no way to get across to the other side.  That would have been the end if God hadn’t been on their side.  

Back to David, he had no problem acknowledging his dependency on the Lord.   David knew very well where his strength came from and he had no problem honoring the Lord for it and giving Him all the glory and praise.  He also knew where his protection came from and his peace and joy.  David knew without the Lord he would be a total failure like many of the other kings were that led Israel into idolatry.  On different occasions he knew unless the Lord protected him he would have been killed in the days that King Saul pursued him to take his life plus there were other times during his kingship.  Without the strength of the Lord he could not have killed the bear or the lion with his bare hands like he did when he was just a shepherd boy; it was a good thing that the Lord was on his side.

Think about this; what do you think would have happened in your life if the Lord wasn’t on your side, what has He done for you and how has He protected you and blessed you?  For starters you would still be in your sins and be separated from the Lord.  In the end all you would experience is weeping and gnashing of teeth and suffering.  You would have no peace, love and joy or any real happiness.  You would be bound by sin and iniquity with no way out of your situation.  We have no idea how many times the Lord has protected us over the years.  Even when He chastises us, or corrects us, it is for our own good.         

Think about these things and then thank and praise the Lord for His unconditional love and mercy and grace that is new every day!!  I think we have something to rejoice about, don’t you?  Enough said, may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!