Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (NIV)
This is a simple but very practical scripture that should be one of those driving forces for all Christians. We ought to not only embrace this scripture but literally live by it. The timidity of so many Christians is astounding and disturbing especially when we serve an all powerful God who has never lost anything in any realm. The Psalmist has a distinct and definitive approach to life from this scripture. There is no fear about anything or anyone when one truly believes that God is on their side. Later in this same chapter in verses 8 and 9 the Psalmist makes it even clear why there is no reason to fear man but trust God “8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Too often our trust is misplaced and this leads us to fear what we should not be afraid of all because our initial focus is wrong. When we place all our trust in people rather than in God we set ourselves up for dependency on people that will eventually show themselves to be human and disappoint us in some capacity. What also happens is that fear begins to work on us and in us because we have placed our trust in one that even we know cannot handle the responsibilities that only God can. The Psalmist is also referring to a boldness and brashness that we must posses as Christians in our reliance on God. When we KNOW that the LORD is on our side we ought not to fear anything or anyone because who can compete with God? Who can defeat our God? No one can so there is no need to fear but this is only subsided when we have the assurance and confidence to boldly believe that God is on our side. When people come against us in the grand scheme of all things ultimately what can they do to us to stop God’s eternal purpose and plan for us? Jesus told us in Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Our fear should not be towards humans but only toward God. God has the final say for our eternal destination and our present existence we must learn to live under His protection of our souls. I pose a question that most must truthfully answer before being able to really live out this scripture, have I put myself in a position for God to be on my side when people come against me? In other words when we are being persecuted have we lived in such a way that we can boldly say that God is on my side? Most fear comes from a place where we have not done our part and we are now afraid of people because we do not believe that God is on our side. Well there is still good news in this while God does not and never will condone sin He will cover sin for those who trust in Him. We are the righteousness of God as Christians and on that we can trust that God will be on our side. When we stand before God and all He sees is Christ, because we have confessed and believed in Him as Savior, God is on our side not because of us but because of His plan of salvation. While God will deal with us for our behavior He will not allow anyone to eternally harm us because we are His. This is the assurance that we have as Christians we ought to KNOW that the LORD is on our side and there is no reason to be afraid of anyone or anything. Once we have come to this revelation we can now literally live out this scripture with boldness and be more than conquerors because of His love and protection. When God is on your side there is truly NOTHING or NO ONE to be afraid of because God has got you covered, so walk in it with boldness.
This is a simple but very practical scripture that should be one of those driving forces for all Christians. We ought to not only embrace this scripture but literally live by it. The timidity of so many Christians is astounding and disturbing especially when we serve an all powerful God who has never lost anything in any realm. The Psalmist has a distinct and definitive approach to life from this scripture. There is no fear about anything or anyone when one truly believes that God is on their side. Later in this same chapter in verses 8 and 9 the Psalmist makes it even clear why there is no reason to fear man but trust God “8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Too often our trust is misplaced and this leads us to fear what we should not be afraid of all because our initial focus is wrong. When we place all our trust in people rather than in God we set ourselves up for dependency on people that will eventually show themselves to be human and disappoint us in some capacity. What also happens is that fear begins to work on us and in us because we have placed our trust in one that even we know cannot handle the responsibilities that only God can. The Psalmist is also referring to a boldness and brashness that we must posses as Christians in our reliance on God. When we KNOW that the LORD is on our side we ought not to fear anything or anyone because who can compete with God? Who can defeat our God? No one can so there is no need to fear but this is only subsided when we have the assurance and confidence to boldly believe that God is on our side. When people come against us in the grand scheme of all things ultimately what can they do to us to stop God’s eternal purpose and plan for us? Jesus told us in Matthew 10:28 “