Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering: God is on my Side

 

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:31-32

 In his commentary, David Guzik states, “One person plus God makes an unconquerable majority.” This morning, as I considered these verses, a great number of opponents came to mind. At first, I thought this was a rhetorical question, “who can be against us?” But as I consider it further, I wonder if it doesn’t go deeper than that. If God is for us, who has a chance against us?

 In this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). This is a certainty, Jesus declared it. That trouble often comes in the form of someone coming against us, whether it’s a person, Satan and his minions, or even ourselves. This passage doesn’t state that no one will come against us, but that their efforts are in vain. When they do, they come against us + God. We are not left on our own to fight our battles or suffer in vain. If we are in Christ, then God is with us. And that is a crucial distinction.

 Just because you say, “God is on my side,” doesn’t mean that He is. Before that can be the case, you need to surrender to His Lordship. You need to lay down your own selfish desires and accept that He is good and right and worthy of worship. I can’t help but wonder if this is where many, like the Crusaders of old, got it wrong. I don’t know their hearts, their motivations, but it seems like they were lured with the promise of wealth and glory. They were going to subjugate the heathens in the Middle East and forcefully convert them. They felt as though God was on their side in this. Of course He would want everyone to turn to Him! But the Crusaders lost more than a little of the context of how God wanted people to come to Him. As my friend Aaron recently posted, “Upon an extensive review of the gospels, I am thoroughly convinced that there are exactly two categories of people in the world: neighbors, who we are commanded to love, and enemies, who we are commanded to love.” God wants to love us to Himself, not force us. He wants us to love others and thus draw them to Himself as well. Saying, “God is on my side,” should make God more attractive to others as they see the blessing that He is in your life and how His influence has caused you to be a more kind, loving, beautiful person. It should not be a “Come at me, bro!” (Yeah, I went there).

Here’s the Thing: I believe this passage was written intending to give us peace and confidence. Nothing and no one is bigger than God. With Him on our side, we don’t have to be afraid. We can stand strong, loving fiercely with His love, not worried about the consequences. He’s got our back!