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Podcast (daily-devotion): Download (4.8MB)

Psalm 124
A song of ascents.

If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

You do not want to fight the battle alone. The enemy is too strong, too powerful, too cunning, too evil. Go into the battle alone and you will be swallowed up, engulfed, swept over, and swept away. You are not up for the fight. Go into combat alone and you will be defeated. Not “If,” not “When?” but “For Sure!” Unless your help is in the name of the Lord, get ready for a shellacking.

The Israelite warrior never went into battle unaccompanied. Soldiers who had his back surrounded him. But he depended on more than other fighters. He went into battle with confidence when he knew that the Lord was on his side. It was the Lord alone who kept him from being torn apart by the enemies’ weapons. It was the Lord alone who allowed him to escape.

How about you? It is not simply a lack of strategy but a lack of sense to fight without the Lord. The battle belongs to Him. The Maker of heaven and earth is more than capable of handling the enemy. The wise warrior, the winning warrior has this written on his heart: “{My} help is in the name of the Lord!”

Father, I will go into battle only if I can go with You. Without You I know the devastating outcome. I move out only with You by my side. Today I depend on You, my help, my protection, my companion, and my friend. In Jesus’ name. Amen.