We belong to Him

https://odb.org/2023/10/23/i-surrender

A phrase that we often hear is that God will help those who help themselves. There is wisdom in that in the sense that we need to act in order for God to act. We need to put in the work to see the results. It is conventional wisdom, but it is not biblical. This is because our faith in God is a relationship. Who we are in God is by His grace. We can not work for our salvation. The Psalmists knew this as they advised: trust in the LORD and do good (Psalm 37:3) and commit your way to the LORD (Psalm 37:5). Thus, it is biblical to say that the Lord will help those who trust and put their faith in Him. As we commit our lives to Him, He will protect and take care of us.

In addition, I will say that the Lord will help us because we belong to Him. In the days of old, the LORD protected Israel because they were His people, and He was their God. He helped them win their wars and battles because they were His people. We just heard during yesterday’s sermon that the key to victory for Israel is to put their trust in God, to cling to Him. That was the advice given by Joshua in his old age, having been given the task to take over from Moses at a young age to spearhead the Israelites’ entry into Canaan, incidentally the site of the current Israeli-Hamas war. Joshua had led Israel to many victories by placing his trust in God.

In present times, what we call the era of the church, we have been redeemed by Christ and are now seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Our spirit is born again, and in the spiritual realm, we have a place with Christ. We have now been given the privilege to be called sons and daughters of God, co-heirs with Christ. We belong to God. We are family to Him. That’s why Jesus Himself taught – will a father who loves you give you stone when you ask for bread? Or a serpent when you ask for fish? See Luke 11:11-13.

Rest assured, my dear brothers and sisters. The LORD our God, who created the heavens and earth, will help and protect us if we put our faith and trust in Him. He will make our paths straight as we commit our lives unto Him. He loves us, each and every one of us, dearly. We are His as we belong to Him. Redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. He is our shepherd and we His sheep. He is our God, and we are His.