January 22-26

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say – Psalm 124:1 ESV

When God is On Your Side
Tom Clancy’s novel Patriot Games’ and the 1992 Harrison Ford movie based on the book was based on a song by an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist called Dominic Behan. It was called ‘The Patriot Game’, and it tells the story of the death of a man called Fergal O’Hanlon in an IRA raid on a police barracks on January 1st, 1957. A few years later, Bob Dylan ripped off the tune and wrote his own song around it, ‘With God on Our Side’. It highlights how in wartime we always assume that our cause is just and that God is our ally. It goes through the Indian wars, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American war, and the two great world wars of the twentieth century.

Most likely, Psalm 124 is authored by David at a time when the Philistines had attacked Israel. God had miraculously delivered them. The deliverance was of such a kind that it could have been accomplished by God alone. Otherwise, they would have surely been destroyed if God wasn’t on their side.

Reflection
There are times in life when our victories can be so remarkable that we can ascribe them to no one else but God. Sometimes, you may feel that everyone is against you, but God is not against you. He’s on your side. We can do much greater things when we realize God is on our side.

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for always being at your side. Praise Him for victories in your life that you know had to be Him working. Ask for God’s peace with any battles you are fighting.

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say—  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; – Psalm 124:1-3 ESV

Praise God for His Marvelous Protection
Whoever invented the word “chicken-hearted” didn’t know his chickens. I have never seen a greater demonstration of courage, fearlessness, and loyalty than I have seen displayed by a chicken in the time of danger. A hen will sit immovable through the most violent storm with her chicks gathered safely beneath her, so that they might be protected from the elements. This example can help us better understand why Jesus compared His own love to that of a hen who “doth gather her chicks under her wings” (Luke 13:34). (Lou  Nicholes)

God protects His own. In Psalm 124, David repeats the phrase, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” David was so convinced “they would have swallowed us alive”(v3) had God not intervened. It’s the imagery of a wild animal attempting to devour someone and them being protected from death.

Reflection
What trials have you faced recently that were bigger than you? How did God protect you?

Praise/Prayer
Thank God for being with you in all your trials. Ask for God’s covering over you and your family.

Then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;  then over us would have gone the raging waters. – Psalm 124:4-5 ESV

Praise God for His Marvelous Protection from the Rising Flood
The flood waters that visited Dover, Pennsylvania, brought a lesson of faith to Ruby Selack. Her favorite Bible was among her possessions that were totally submerged when five feet of water entered her home. In the cleanup, she laid the Bible out to dry and opened it at random. The following night she returned, and 20 to 30 pages had been folded over and a pointed piece of metal had fallen on the Bible from the ledge above. The piece of metal, she reported, pointed to Psalm 93, part of which reads: “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea...” (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #654).

Flash floods were a common occurrence during the rainy seasons in ancient Palestine. The imagery depicts a sudden, life-threatening, catastrophic flood of trouble. James Boice writes, “Sometimes our troubles are like that. It is not so much a question of being submerged by troubles — buried by them, as we might say. It is more like being hit by a truck, which crushes us by its great weight,
leaving us mangled by the roadside while it disappears on down the highway.” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms)

Reflection
When has God delivered you from feeling overwhelmed? In what ways have you felt overwhelmed lately?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for helping you keep your head above the “raging waters” of life. Ask God to ease your anxieties when you feel overwhelmed.

We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!  – Psalm 124:7 ESV

Praise God for His Marvelous Protection from a Hidden Trap
On a February day in 1925, Floyd Collins climbed into Sand Cave in search of fortune. Suddenly, his lantern failed. Crawling through the darkness, Collin's foot hit a seven-ton boulder. It fell on his leg, trapping him in the coffin-like narrowness of a dark, subterranean straitjacket. For days, Collins was trapped 125 feet below ground in an ice-cold space 8 inches high and 12 feet long. In the meantime, his plight became a national sensation. As the rescue attempt wore on, some 50,000 tourists bought hot dogs, balloons, and soft drinks from vendors at the cave in Kentucky. But in the end, Floyd Collins died alone in the icy darkness, crying out deliriously, "Get me out. Why don't you take me out? Kiss me goodbye, I'm going." (Today in the Word)

Feeling trapped is a terrible feeling. In Psalm 124, the bird is entangled, but the net breaks and the bird escapes. The net was not strong enough to retain the struggling bird, and the captive broke away. King David seemed to be caught. The enemy appeared to have him in his power, but with God’s help, he was able to escape to freedom.

Reflection
What has God set you free from? What would you like to see God set you free from?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for His gift of freedom. Ask God to help you avoid the traps of the enemy today.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. – Psalms 124:8 ESV

When God is On Your Side Tell Others of His Marvelous Salvation
French Protestants used to commence their services with this verse (Psalms 124:8). John Calvin seems to have begun this practice in Strassburg and Geneva. He “chose it because he understood that this declaration said the truth about the congregation gathered for worship as well as any one sentence could.” — James Luther Mays, Psalms, Interpretation

The psalmist calls on all believers in Israel to verbalize their witness concerning the Lord’s help. Eugene Peterson writes, “The witness is vivid and contagious. One person announces the theme, everyone joins in. God’s help is not a private experience; it is a corporate reality—not an exception that occurs among isolated
strangers, but the norm among the people of God.” (Eugene H. Peterson, Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs)

Reflection
As the Creator, God is more than qualified to intervene in your life and to deliver you. Who is someone you could share praise about God’s work in your life with, today?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for making the heavens and the earth but also for caring for you. Ask God to lead you to someone who needs to hear you praise God today.