Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

July 13– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“When I cry unto you, then my enemies will be turned back; this I know, for God is for me.” 

—Psalm 56:9

It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase: “God is for me.” He was “for us” before the worlds were made. He was “for us” when he gave his well-loved son. He was “for us” when he struck his only-begotten on the cross and laid the full weight of his wrath upon him. He was “for us,” though he was against him.

He was “for us” when we fell into sin. He was “for us” when we rebelled against him, raising defiant fists in the air toward heaven. He was “for us,” or he would not have turned our hearts to humbly seek His face.

In Christ, he has been “for us” in many struggles and dangers. We have been attacked by temptations from without and within. How could we have remained unharmed to this hour if he had not been “for us”? He is “for us” with all the infinity of his being– with all the omnipotence of his love– with all the infallibility of his wisdom. He is eternally and unchangeably “for us.” He is “for us” when blue skies fill with clouds. And when the sky itself goes away, he will be for us “for us” throughout eternity.

And because he is “for us,” the voice of prayer will always ensure his help. “When I cry unto you (O God), then my enemies will be turned back.” This is no uncertain hope; this is something I can “know.” So, I will direct my prayer unto you and be assured that your answer will come to me and that my enemies will be defeated, “for God is for me.”

O believer, how happy it is to have the King of kings on your side! How safe you are with such a Protector! How confident you can be that your case is in the hands of such an Advocate! If God is for you, who can be against you? [M&E]