If the Lord had not been on our side
Psalm 124:1-5(NIV) If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel say— if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.
Pause for a moment and reflect: where would you be if God were not on your side? The Psalmist poses this question and then provides an answer. If God had not been on our side, people would have attacked and swallowed us, their anger flared against us, floods would have engulfed us, torrents would have swept over us, and the raging waters would have swept us away.
David recognised the significant impact of having God on his side. He understood what it meant for God to be with him.
Psalms 56:3-4(ESV) When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Psalms 56:9(ESV) Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
Romans 8:31(ESV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Without God on our side, we would have faced defeat, destruction, and complete devastation, being swept away, and swallowed alive.
David likens these enemies to wild animals with gnashing teeth and hunters setting traps.
Psalm 124:6-8(NIV) Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
With God on our side, the enemy’s traps have been broken, and we are free. God is our helper.
If God had not been on our side, He would have never sent Jesus to die for our sins. We would have been lost, without a Saviour. But, because God is on our side, He sent His only begotten Son to die for us.
Hebrews 2:14-15(AMP) Therefore, since [these His] children share in flesh and blood [the physical nature of mankind], He Himself in a similar manner also shared in the same [physical nature, but without sin], so that through [experiencing] death He might make powerless (ineffective, impotent) him who had the power of death—that is, the devil— and [that He] might free all those who through [the haunting] fear of death were held in slavery throughout their lives.
Psalm 94:17(TLB) I would have died unless the Lord had helped me.
Isaiah 59:19b(NKJV) When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
Since God is on your side, decide today to be on God’s side. James 4:8(NLT) says: Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.