Romans 8:31 What then
shall we say to these things? If
God is for us, who can be against us?
Do you have anyone
“against you”? Or maybe no one is really against you, but it kind of feels like
something is. It may feel like you are hitting a wall every direction you turn,
every idea you have, or suggestion you make. There are seasons in ministry that
feel like nothing is going right.
There are also
difficult seasons in marriage. Husband and wife are on different pages. When
you try to come together there is an invisible shield. You wonder if you’ll
ever see things the same, or where all the romance went. Thank goodness for
vows, like for better or worse, richer or poorer. Sometimes those hold a
marriage together, through to the next season of laughter and joy.
Like those marriage
vows, God holds everything together. God tells us in this verse, that He is in
fact for us. When the world is pressing in around us, the enemy is crouching
close by and life is all-askew, God is for us. He holds us tight to Him. He
never forsakes His promises to us in baptism. He renews His covenant at the
Table. He fills us with Himself and sends us out.
When times are
difficult, even the most steadfast wonder if God is for them. Is He with me,
helping me? Does He have my best in mind, or is He just sitting back and
watching? We return to the Word. He is FOR us. This is truth. He is FOR you. He
is FOR your marriage. He is working and helping and growing, no matter the
struggle or frustration.
And with God on our
side, what else could we say,
If
God Himself be for me, I may a host defy;
For
when I pray, before me My foes confounded fly.
If
Christ, my head and master, Befriend me from above,
What
foe or what disaster Can drive me from His love?
(LSB
724)
