The Secret of Contentment, Part Three

Hebrews 13:5,6
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, January 18, 1998
Copyright © 1998, P. G. Mathew

Hebrews 13:5,6 speaks to us about three things: covetousness, contentment, and confidence. From these verses we learn that Christians are to avoid covetousness, learn contentment, and have confidence.

The people of the world exhibit a certain confidence, which is self-confidence, or confidence in themselves. But that is not what this scripture is speaking about. If you as a Christian want to avoid covetousness, learn contentment, and have confidence, then you must study these verses in which God says, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” and “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” A Christian’s confidence is based on recognizing the presence of God as well as believing the promises of God.

God Said It

Let us then examine what will give us great confidence. In the Greek we read autos gar eirēken, referring back to verse 4, krinei ho Theos, and meaning “God himself has said.” The writer is emphasizing that this is not the statement of a mere man or even an angel, but of God himself. When God speaks, we must listen. In Hebrews 11:3 we read that the same God spoke and the whole universe came into being. In Hebrews 4:12 we read that the word of this God divides and exposes us at the very core of our being. And in Hebrews 4 we also read that when we mix the word of this God with faith, we will receive great rest.

We can trust implicitly in God’s word. Now, I have performed weddings in which husbands and wives have made promises, but I have found out later on they changed their minds and we cannot really trust in the promises they made. But this is not the word of a husband or a wife, or even of an angel, a father or a politician. All of these can lie to us. This is God himself speaking.

In the Greek the word is eirēken which is the perfect active indicative third person singular of legō. What is the significance of the perfect tense in the Greek language? It means the validity of a past action continues to the present. So the writer to the Hebrews is telling us that what God spoke in the past continues to be true to the present day. What was true when God spoke in this way to Moses, Joshua, and everyone else in the past is true for us in the present as well.

We see this same use of eirēken in 2 Corinthians 12:9, where we read, “But he said to me,” meaning God had spoken to Paul. Again, the verb is in the perfect tense, indicating that what the Lord spoke to Paul about two thousand years ago is still valid for us in our present troubles and situations. What did God tell St. Paul? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That proposition was true for Paul two thousand years ago and it is still true for us today, and so it is written in the perfect tense.

In 1 Corinthians 15:4 Paul speaks about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. . .” The Greek verb which underlies the phrase “that he was raised” is also in the perfect tense–egēgertai. That means the one who was raised from the dead is still raised from the dead. In John 14:19 Jesus said, “Because I live, you also shall live.” Our Christ is the risen Christ, the Sovereign Lord of the universe, and he will never die. That is what Paul was saying when he wrote, “he was raised.”

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, “It is written”–gegraptai, which is the perfect passive of graphō, which means “to write.” The word of God was written in the past by people who were inspired by the Spirit of the living God. They wrote exactly as God wanted them to write, which is why it is the very word of God. But what was written in the past stands as authoritative right now. In his encounter with Satan, Jesus knew the Scripture stands as the final authority; therefore, he said, “It is written,” and refused to yield to the temptation of Satan.

Understand, then, this whole idea of perfect tense in Greek: “For he himself has said. . .” May we receive great confidence and comfort and consolation from this text, knowing that what God said in the past is still valid for us today.

And I also want to note that when God says, “I will never leave you,” the word for “you” in the Greek is in the second person singular. In other words, God is not speaking these promises to the crowd. In our specific problems, troubles, and situations, God is speaking to us as individuals, saying, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” This is God’s promise, spoken in the past, still valid today for you and for me as individuals.

God Is with Us

No matter what happens, God is with us. Let us, then, examine what God said in the past concerning his presence with his people.

In Genesis 28:15 we find Jacob leaving his parents’ home and traveling far away to the home of his mother’s relatives to find a wife. Jacob thought he was traveling alone, but that was not true. In verse 15 God spoke to him, saying, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This is what God spoke to Jacob centuries ago, but it is true today for us as well: God is with us. What great confidence we can have from this amazing truth!

In Deuteronomy 31 we find the great leader Moses about to die. You see, man grows weary and dies. But there is a God who is eternal and everlasting. He never gets tired and he never dies. Read what Moses said to God’s people, beginning with verse 1: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.'” Moses knew he was not going to continue to lead God’s people. But did God have any other plan for leading, guiding and protecting his people? Who would wage their battles? In verse 3 Moses continued, “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said.” You see, there will be a man and there will always be God. God always has a man, and when Moses’ work was done, God raised up Joshua. But the people’s confidence was to rest, not in Joshua, but in the fact God himself would be with them.

Moses continued in verses 4-6, “And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” What God spoke through Moses thousands of years ago is true today and God is speaking the same things to you and to me. Our confidence, courage, hope, and fearlessness is based on the fact that God himself is with us.

In Joshua 1:5 we find God speaking to Joshua: “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Now do you understand that you are not alone? God is with us and he will always find a man to lead you also.

Listen to what King David spoke at the end of his life to his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:20: “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.” Take courage! Be strong! Be not afraid! Be filled with hope. What is the reason? God himself is with you.

In Isaiah 41:17-18 we read, “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” God is with us and he will perform miracles. He alone can bring about salvation for his poor and needy people.

After his resurrection, Jesus himself encouraged his disciples on this issue, and in Matthew 28:18-20 we read, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Now, Jesus was giving his disciples a very difficult task, because the world does not like this kind of activity. In fact, the disciples knew they would be persecuted and even killed because of these things. But Jesus encouraged them further: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” God is with us, even at the moment of our death.

The apostle Paul worked very hard for God and experienced terrible persecution, not only from the world but also from the church itself. But in 2 Timothy 4:17 he wrote, “But the Lord stood at my side.” You see, everyone had forsaken him. And let me assure you, everyone may forsake you also. I have learned that truth in my own life. You depend on some person, but when the time comes, he is not there. But Paul had a profound revelation. In his first defense no one stood with him, but then he writes, “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.” The Lord stood with Paul.

Therefore, be bold and have confidence. What is our confidence based on? Our Savior, our Lord, our God shall never leave us nor forsake us. He shall be with us. When our own spouse, our own fathers, our own mothers forsake us, there is a God who will stand with us and deliver us from the lion’s mouth.

The Benefit of God’s Presence

What is God going to do for us by being with us? In Psalm 84:11 we read, “For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” God is a sun and a shield for his people, and he provides us with all that we need.

God is with us to help us. In Psalm 121:1 we read, “I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from?” What is the answer to that question? Verse 2: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Not only is God with us, but he who is the Maker of heaven and earth gives us help. What confidence, courage, boldness, and hope we have, based on God’s presence with us!

In Psalm 73:24-25 we discover that God is with us to guide us. “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” This God who is with us guides us and counsels us, and in the end he receives us into glory. That ought to give us great confidence, hope, joy, and consolation, especially when we are about to die.

What else does this God who is with us do? In 2 Corinthians 9:8 we read, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Almighty, all-powerful God is with us, and from him flows into us all sufficiency of grace and power so that we are able to do all that God wants us to do. Doesn’t that give you some confidence, that this God is with us?

In Philippians 4:18 Paul tells us, “I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” But then Paul said something else: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (v. 19). God is with us and he is able to meet all our needs. Don’t you think we should have some confidence?

Appreciating God’s Presence

God himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Just as hirelings forsake their sheep, pastors who see the ministry as just a way to earn money may forsake you. They will run for safety when trouble threatens. But Jesus is the good shepherd who gave his life for his sheep.

In John 14:18 Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans,” meaning fatherless, motherless, resourceless, homeless, and shepherdless. Instead, he promised to send another Comforter–the Spirit of the living God–from the Father to be with us forever. May we all have a profound appreciation of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the church today! Therefore, we should be able to say, “I am confident, I am bold, I am courageous, and I am not depressed, because God has said he would never leave me nor forsake me.”

It is a wonderful thing to have God with us, but how terrible it is when he is not. In Exodus 33 we read how God became angry with his people and said he would not go with them into the Promised Land. In verse 3 he told Moses, “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go with you.” Now, I am sure some children would be very happy if their parents said such a thing. “Kids, go ahead on your trip, but we’ll just stay home. Have a good time!” I am sure the children would be extremely delighted with such great freedom from their parents.

Why wasn’t God going? He gave his reason in verse 3, “But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” He wasn’t going because of the people’s sin. But Moses knew how terrible it would be if God did not go with them. He interceded with God and God changed his mind. In verses 14-15 we read, “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.'” So God agreed to go with his people.

Praise God that he is a Savior and does not deal with us according to our iniquities! Though we become unfaithful, he remains faithful. He told Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name” (v. 17).

God with Us: The Holy Spirit

In John 14:16-17 Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor,” meaning another Comforter, another Shepherd, another Guide, another Defender, “to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth.” And in verse 23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'”

In the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son have come to dwell with us. Doesn’t this give us a great sense of hope, in spite of our sins, failures, and unfaithfulness? God has come, and his name is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” So we can say with the psalmist, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” What is the reason for this great courage, confidence, and boldness? “For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).

God makes a wonderful promise in Hebrews 13:5. In the Greek text we find five negatives, which can be translated, “I will never, never leave you; never, never, never forsake you.” Here the writer used five negatives to emphasize the reality of the fact that God is always with us. These five negatives are really five great positives, in other words.

In Ephesians 4:30 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” You see, there were times we grieved the Holy Spirit by sinning, but do you think the Holy Spirit goes away when we sin? No, he does not. Why? Because this verse says, “I will never, never, never, never, never leave you nor forsake you.” God understands our sin, wickedness and problems, but he is resourceful to deal with all that.

We Believe; Therefore, We Speak

After hearing this tremendous promise of God that his presence will be with us always, in verse 6 we read, “So we say with confidence. . .” You see, God’s promise comes to us. We may be in trouble and have problems, we may be fearful, depressed and confused, we may be without hope or guidance. But God says, “I will never, never, never, never, never leave you nor forsake you,” and therefore, we who believe this promise will speak with confidence.

In Hebrews 4:2,3 we read, “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said.” How do we enter God’s rest? By believing what God says. God’s word has gone out from him and it is valid not only in the past but right now. It is coming to us, and it is up to us to mix it with faith. We believe and then we must speak, as we read in 2 Corinthians 4:13.

God has spoken, and now the question is, have you? Have you said with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”? When we do that, it shows that we have faith in the promises of God. And, notice, there is an individual application. The promise is for individuals and so we say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

A believer sets the Lord in opposition to man. There is one-breath man–who is really grass, mist, and nothing–and there is Kurios, the Lord of the universe, eternal, infinite, almighty God. (PGM) What the believer is saying is, “God, I believe your promise that your presence is with me and therefore I am uttering with all conviction, ‘The Lord is my helper.'” This is a logical deduction we can make from the promise God gives to each of us individually. “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man–mere flesh, nothing, the one who grows weary and tired and dies, man of one breath, grass, mist–what can he do to me when the Lord said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you'”?

Therefore, we enter into rest by combining God’s promise with the faith that the Holy Spirit gives us. “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” This is the confidence Martin Luther demonstrated in his hymn: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing . . . And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him. That Word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever.” Luther was bold, confident, and unafraid.

Confidence in God

Our confidence rests in the presence of God and in his promises. If we are God’s people, we know that God is always with us. Just remember the wonderful things God did in the exodus from Egypt. God came down and performed ten miracles to accomplish his people’s salvation. God brought them out of Egypt and led them with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. The presence of God was with his people. What about the Red Sea? It parted, because the battle is the Lord’s. When they came to Marah, they were thirsty but the water was bitter. They did not have to worry, however. God was with them and God made the bitter water drinkable. They didn’t have food, but, again, they did not have to worry. God poured out manna from heaven. Once again they didn’t have water, but out of the rock God provided water for his people. If God rescues his people from Egypt, he also has ways to feed them and quench their thirst.

How else did God provide for his people? They were attacked by the Amalekites, but God was with them and gave them the victory. When they came to the Jordan, it was at the flood stage, but they did not have to worry. God was with them and the Jordan divided before them. They came to Jericho with its locked gates and towering walls. No need to worry–God was with them and the walls came crashing down.

Joshua led the people successfully in many battles. Once the sun even stood still while the battle was being waged. Why? God was with them, and there was nothing to be afraid of. So just as Moses was confident, just as Joshua was confident, you and I should also be bold and confident. We must declare, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

In the Greek text of John 16:33 we read, “These things I have spoken to you. . .” and again, you have a perfect verb there “in order that in me you may have peace. In the world you have troubles, but tharseite,” which is a command meaning “Be confident, be bold, be fearless!” God is commanding us to be bold and confident–to cheer up, in other words. Then he gives the reason: Ego nenikēka ton kosmon. The verb is in the perfect tense, so I will translate it this way: “I have conquered the world and that victory continues.” Jesus has conquered the world! We are in the world, but the one who conquered the world is in us, and we have nothing to fear.” Therefore, God says, “Tharseite–be confident, be bold!”

God Is Our Helper

So in Hebrews 13:6 we read, Kurios emoi boēthos–Lord my helper. God is my helper. And then we find a profound challenge: “What can man do to me?”

As we said before, man is but a breath, mist, and grass. In fact, if we put all the nations of the earth together, Isaiah says they are still nothing (Isaiah 40:17). But who is with us? The Lord–the infinite, personal, unchangeable, eternal, almighty, all-wise, all-glorious God. Remember how Jesus said he would not leave us as orphans; rather, he would send another Comforter–eternal God, the Holy Spirit–who would be with us forever? God is our helper; therefore, cheer up! Be bold, confident and unafraid.

Now, the word for helper, boēthos, comes from two words: boē, which means to cry and theo, which means to run. The idea is that of a child crying and the father or mother running to help that child. All who have ever been parents know what this means. In the middle of the night the child begins to cry in the next room, and the mother or father runs to help that child. You don’t say, “It doesn’t matter. Just let the kid cry.” That is the idea here: the helper races to the aid of the one who is crying.

We see this word used in Matthew 15:25. There was a Syro-Phoenician woman whose daughter was hopelessly demonized. The mother heard about Jesus Christ coming to her region, so she came to Jesus and pleaded for him to help her daughter. In verse 25 we read, “A woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said,” and in the Greek the word used is boēthos. “Run to the aid of the one who is crying to you.”

God Will Help Us

Let me assure you, Jesus did help the woman’s daughter. Isn’t that true? This is the God that we serve– “Lord, to us a helper.” That is what prayer is all about. By the Spirit of the living God we can cry, “Abba, Father, help us! We are overwhelmed with troubles and problems. Father, help us in the name of Jesus and run to our aid.” So when we read “The Lord is my helper,” it is telling us that the Lord of the universe, the Savior and head of his church, will run to the aid of all who cry to him for help. No wonder he tells us to cheer up and fear not!

In Matthew 14 we find another word, epelabeto (from epilambanomai), which tells us how God helps us. Epilambanomai means someone–in this case, God–stretching out his hand to help someone else who is in trouble. In verse 29 we find Peter walking on the water–an amazing feat. But in verse 30 we read, “But when he saw the wind he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!'” This is the cry–a brief arrow, a short prayer, but one full of passion and faith. Peter was sinking, but he had learned to do one thing: cry to the Lord. And we are told that immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught him, saved him, and lifted him up. No wonder we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” The expected answer is absolutely nothing if God is helping us.

In Romans 8:31 we read, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And in 1 John 4:4 we read, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Our God is for us, with us and in us. Our God goes before us and behind us. In fact, God is around us, so the fact of God being our helper is a reality. We can count on it, rest upon it, and put all our hope in it. He will stretch out his hand and come to our aid. He will lift us up out of our sinkhole and make us rejoice in him. In him we have peace. In the world we will have troubles, but Jesus has overcome the world and we are in him.

God Is Eager to Help Us

We find the word epilambanomai again in Hebrews 2:16: “For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.” Do you know that when God created the universe, he also created angels? God called everything very good in Genesis 1, but by the time we come to Genesis 3, something happened and some angels had sinned. But there was no plan of redemption for them, so the writer to the Hebrews says, “Surely it is not angels he helps.”

But God helps Abraham’s descendants. The eternal Son of God became a man for the purpose of helping us, as we read in Matthew 1:21, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” God comes down and stretches out his hand to help the descendants of Abraham, the elect of God, the children of God. When we cry to God with faith and passion, “Lord, save me!” he stretches out his hand to help us–not angels, but us. How special we are to God!

So in Hebrews 4:16 we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence” and in the Greek the word is parrēsias, meaning with boldness. Yes, we deserved death but Christ died in our place; therefore, instead of dying we live. We deserved the wrath of God but Christ suffered wrath in our place; therefore, God is propitious toward us. We were separated from God but in Christ we are reconciled to the Father; therefore, we can now commune freely with the Father and have great boldness to come to his throne of grace. We had been enslaved to Satan and sin, but God in Christ ransomed us out of slavery and bondage; therefore, we now experience freedom, meaning to say “No” to Satan and sin and freedom to say “Yes” to our God.

So this verse tells us, “Let us, then, approach the throne of grace with confidence. . .” And what is the purpose of coming to God? “So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Truly, God is our helper.

God’s Grace for Our Time of Need

God’s help is available for all Christians, but not all Christians avail themselves of it. Some people become proud, arrogant, independent, and stubborn. They rely on their natural abilities, thinking they can handle everything in their own strength. They don’t pray or seek God’s help. But such people do not receive grace from God.

Who does God give grace to? The humble. When I see the Holy Spirit coming upon a person, causing him to humble himself, confess his sins and repent of his sins, such a person receives grace, help, and mercy from God. But when I see someone who is arrogant and stubborn, I see a graceless person. Such a person is in deep trouble but he refuses to cry out: Lord, save me!

But we just made the point that God helps the descendants of Abraham, not the angels. He earnestly listens to our prayers and stretches out his hand to help us. And so he says to us, “Come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace in the time of need.” Praise God, we are not alone. God is with us, and we can talk to him. He will listen to us and run to our aid.

Therefore, we are filled with confidence and we will find help in our time of trouble. “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Man is a nothing, the nations are nothing, but our Lord is the lord of the universe and lord of the covenant. The Father placed all things under his feet.

God Is for Us

In Romans 8:31 we find a challenge: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” What is the expected answer? No one! God has given us victory over sin, over Satan, over death, over hell, and over law. So in Romans 8:39 we read that nothing in all creation is “able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We have great confidence because of God’s presence and God’s promise. Man can kill us, but Jesus told us not to fear those who can kill the body. Why? Death only puts us in God’s presence. Do you remember what Jesus said to the thief on the cross? “Today you will be with me in paradise.” In life God is with us and in death we are with him. He will never, never, never, never, never leave us nor forsake us. It is an utter impossibility.

Does this mean we should be lazy and do nothing? Does it mean we should wait for God to send food to us by ravens, as he did for Elijah? No. A godly man obeys rather than provokes God, so we must work six days. We must improve our condition, engage in scientific research, be involved in social action, help change bad laws, and help enact good laws. We must help alleviate poverty and disease, engage in serious prayer, and not withdraw from the world to practice asceticism.

We must live balanced lives, in other words. God’s people are extremely responsible, and so we must do all these things as Christians and practice contentment due to Christ’s sufficiency. Thus, we can live confidently today and every day. But in the final analysis, we do not trust in this temporal world; we trust in the world to come.

Practical Application

By way of application, let me give you twelve propositions which can serve as incentives to help us avoid covetousness, learn contentment, and have confidence.

Conditions always change. You can depend on the fact that conditions always change. Therefore, we must never depend upon our condition at any time.
What matters is the relationship of my soul to God. Nothing else matters, in the final analysis.
God is concerned about me. As my heavenly Father, God cares for me. Jesus said that the heavenly Father has numbered every hair on our heads. This means we enjoy the total care of God in the most minute detail.
Whatever God allows to happen to me is for my good. Truly we can say “Father knows best” as far as our heavenly Father is concerned. Nothing happens to us outside of his sovereign control.
Every situation in life is the unfolding of God’s love for me. We may not realize this wonderful fact. In Isaiah 55:8 God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Every situation is the unfolding of God’s love for me; therefore, in everything we can give thanks.
All things work together for our good, or “In all things God works for our good,” as we read in Romans 8:28. We can count on this truth.
Circumstances are not permanent. Life is always changing, and we must always realize that any circumstance in which we find ourselves is temporary.
I belong to God in life and in death. What a comforting fact!
I can do all things by God’s grace. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul wrote, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. . .” We can do all things by the grace of God.
I can always look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the writer to the Hebrews tells us. Sometimes we are pulled downward by our conditions and circumstances and find ourselves looking here and there, but not at God. May God help us in the middle of all that to lift up our heads and look to the heavenlies, where we will see our God seated on his throne and caring for us.
He who is with us and in us is greater than he who is in the world. Everything in the world–Satan, demons, men–is creature, finite, nothing. But he who is with us–Jesus Christ–is greater than any created thing in the world.
Nothing in all creation is able to cut us off from the love of God. God demonstrated this great love by sending his Son to die for us on the cross.

Conclusion

Therefore, as we read in Romans 8, if God is for us–meaning for our salvation, for our deliverance, for our help–who can be against us? No one. And I said our confidence is based on the presence of God and the promise of God, but we must add faith to it. God has spoken; therefore we must speak. He has spoken in the past but his book is valid and true today.

May God help us to believe. He is the infinite, eternal, unchanging God–our Savior, who spoke and the universe came to be. He is the one who sustains the universe by his powerful word and is the redeemer and head of the church. He is the one whom the Father has placed everything under his feet, and he is the one who said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Therefore, we will be bold, confident and fearless. May we rejoice in God’s presence and promise and have great confidence in him. Amen.