“For Us”

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

    The Apostle Paul’s affirmation of God’s abiding support for His trusting children in Christ blesses our hearts with peace and assurance.  I think often of those two little words, “for us,” often repeated in the New Testament.

    “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

    “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

    “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34).

    “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

    “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).

    “By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).

     These and many other references speak to our Heavenly Father’s abiding faithfulness to His children, and to the security that should set our feet upon a strong foundation for everything that approaches us in life.  Let the worst happen to us – God is for us.  Moreover, He is wise enough, powerful enough, and present enough to fit all things into the glory of His Son, and the best interests of His sons and daughters in Christ.  “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, and to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

    This is peace, and there is none other.  Indeed, let all others be opposed to us.  If the Lord be for us, we find ourselves in an unassailable fortress.  "The name of the Lord is a strong tower.  The righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).  Thus, we can live our lives in the assurance that the One who matters most to us will forever abide in His determination to be all that we will need Him to be.

    One final point.  Our Lord is for us even when He is not for things we may believe, say, do, or relate.  We would not want Him to approve or affirm sin, and He does not.  However, as He works to correct us, His heart of “for us” never wanes.  As my mother used to say, “Glen, I always love you.  But I don’t always like you!”  By this, she simply meant that I was forever her son, and she would always be devoted to my care.  She didn’t, however, always approve of the things I did.  Thank God she didn’t!  Similarly, our Heavenly Father may be most supportive when He must wield the rod in order to redirect our steps.  “Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth” (Hebrews 6:12).  This is a true “for us,” and let us give thanks for a God who presently and forever looks upon us with a supportive heart.

“I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

(II Corinthians 6:16)