Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.” God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man.”

–Judges 6:15-16 MSG

I woke up this morning singing the Casting Crowns song, “God Is With Us.” Those words keep rolling around in my head accompanied by pictures of what life can hold.

When we think the worst is over only to be roused from sleep, urgently called to Egypt because danger is on the way to our house…God is with us, God is for us.

When the odds are overwhelmingly against us, yet we’re told to move forward with only 300 warriors; and our heart quakes within…God is with us, God is for us.

 When one we love is lost to us and it seems that God could have done something but didn’t…God is with us, God is for us.

You see, there is no place we can go that He is not there. Shall we dip down to the depths of hell? He’s there. What if we take a hard-right turn, running as far away from Him as we can get? He’s there. What about tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that? God is eternal. Time is His servant, not His master. He stands in our future safeguarding all our days. He holds all the outcomes of every distress and every joy securely in His hands. Remember, He is the lion of Judah and the Sacrificial Lamb. He knows what to do with everything because it all comes together in Him.

Is it any wonder He said to the disciples before leaving, “Go out into the world. Don’t take much with you. I will provide for you, I will watch over you, I will make sure you have everything you need. Just go and show people who I am and what I’m like. No matter where you go, no matter what happens in the going, I will be with you.” And with that great promise and security, they went.

Let’s go too.

God is in us. God is with us. God is for us.

ACTION: Contemplating 2021, what might God be asking of you? Perhaps you might listen to this song as you open your heart to whatever is coming your way.