God Takes Sides January 11, 2017

⁵ Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
Psalm 118:5-6 ESV

Often times for me the best way to define a word is to look at synonyms.  I looked up "distress" and found a long list of synonyms.  This list included ache, anguish, anxiety, misery, sadness, torment, and worry.  Perhaps one of those better fit what you are feeling right now.  

Regardless of the exact description there are times where for known or unknown reasons, we feel distress.  Job.  Finances.  Finances.  Spiritual.  All these things and more can bring distress into our lives.  That is life.  But look at three promises in these two short verses.

First God hears and answers.  David called out of his distress.  Things were bad.  He cried out and God responded.  Our God is not a statue or some vague entity hovering around the heavens.  He is a real, specific being who is directly involved in the lives of each of us.  

Then God answered, and David was set free.  Free from the circumstances?  Perhaps not, but free from the distress caused by the circumstances.  It is a fallacy to assume God will smite that unreasonable boss or reverse dementia every time we pray.  But we can possess freedom from the mind-numbing worry and emotional turmoil that accompanies so many of life's trials.

The final promise in today's verse almost made me stand up and shout.  (Since Kristi was fast asleep in the next room, I refrained from doing so.)  "The LORD is on my side."  Not to question the author of the Psalm, David, but an exclamation point could have been used here. 

God is on my side.  He is on your side.  He is on the side of every person born-again Christian.  Regardless of what is causing the distress.  Whether it was self-inflicted, imagined, or out of our control, God is there to set us free from worry and anguish.  

God is on our side! (explanation point!!)