IF NOT FOR GOD
On the Cross Over night into 2008, I was at work and about midnight, my two colleagues and I came together and held hand in prayers. We explore the Psalm 124, as we exalted the Lord in thanksgiving for His great love and compassion for us; in seeing us through another year. After then I decided to dig deeper into the psalm. This eight verses chapter has not only resulted into personal edification and worship but also exultation as we start another new year. Psalm 124 is a song of victory which the ancient Jews sang to keep up their morale because their journey was exhausting and dangerous as they passed through the wild mountainous countries. There, they faced fierce attacks by their enemies. There appeared no escape for these helpless pilgrims, yet they escaped and passed through the danger unscattered [unruffled]. Verses 2-3 seem to suggest that there must have been occasions when such calamities nearly happened to a company of pilgrims. For this reason, the Psalmist says, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us; then they would have swallowed us alive. When the wrath was kindled against us then the waters would have overwhelmed us. The stream would have gone over our soul.”
In spite of all the odds that militated against them; all things appeared impossible and hopeless, yet they escaped. It was nothing but a miracle that happened; pushing back the flood – waters and releases the deadly trap. If you are confronted with the question: where did this unexpected help come from? The Psalmist closes the chapter with an answer: “Our help come in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” When they must have come to the end of the road, the children of Israel stood by the Red sea watching in confusion yet God intervened in His mighty power and the sea divided into two following the strong east wind all that night. Surprised, the children of Israel walked across the Red sea in dry land. That same sea became a death trap for the Egyptian soldiers, their horses and chariots. This great God took side with the weak when the strong rose up against them. God has always been a powerful strength to the helpless and weak. He intervenes even at the eleventh hour to rescue and redeem His people from disaster and death. God is sovereign and rules the world He created; has trade marks over his creation, and the right, power and wisdom to intervene in its affairs.
God is Omnipresent but some people exaggerate that He’s dead. These groups of people believe that God was in Jesus when He died on the cross and died with him. One salient fact that may not make sense to them is that God was never dead but ever existent and active; even when He raised Jesus from dead [Acts 2:32]. Even though God was in Christ but Christ was crucified, died and buried. What followed next was the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. The invisible hand of God drove off the monster; pulls back the flood waters of religious hypocrisy and released the deadly trap of Satan. The Resurrection of Christ is the bedrock of Christian faith. The reason, especially at Easter and in Christian worship, the Church celebrates the mighty act of God intervention in the history of humanity. Little wonder the Epistle of Peter had this to say about Christ, “Through Him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God” [1 Peter 1:21]. This same God, the Psalmist experienced and declared: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth [Verse 8].
In God in Man’s experience, Leonard Griffith wrote, “The Church needs to sing that song with new conviction, because there are days when the Church in many parts of the world seems to be fighting for her existence.” He added, “Down the centuries, the Church has often been like a pilgrim people, traveling through dangerous country and threatened by crafty enemies.” Time and time again, then and even now people attack, blaspheme and persecute the Church; drag her name to the mud but surprisingly something always happens to redeem and vindicate her. Always the verge of hell cannot prevail over the Church. Yet the Church is alive and waxing strong even in areas that she was once persecuted. In The Trouble with Jesus, Joseph M. Stowell wrote, “In the face of a hostile environment, the early Christians remembered what Jesus had taught them: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you…” [Mathew 5: 11-16].These words sound unpopular these days!
As the Church gather again and again, and in pursuit of her mission, her strongest weapon in the midst of all her persecutions is: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The Psalmist repeatedly said, “I will lift my eyes unto the hills……My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth [Psalm 121:2]. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” [Psalm 20:7]. King David held unto the Lord who delivered him out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear and had prepared him for a time like this; then said to the Philistine Goliath, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you defied” [1 Samuel 17:37, 45].
While the Church goes into deep slumber, the enemy is on the offensive. We could remind ourselves shamefully though, that 46 years ago, it took just a woman and his child to take out the bible and prayers from schools in United States. With all the “holy noise” made in Christendom, and all the giants’ believers in pulpits and all corridors of power, it has become irretrievable. Again the Church in lost of directions, fighting over tithes and offerings and self glory; building financial empires and in competition as well as speaking in deceitful and meaningless diverse tongues, the devil has engaged in another fierce battle and has taken over the city of Christians. When a proud lesbian become the president of our society, the values become legality without morality. Our children will have to learn new lifestyles and consequences are very challenging. The early Churches knew that they were soldiers fighting a common foe and did not care about martyrdom or insensitivity but that had long changed. Today Christianity is about “Churchanity” and money theology; as well as fighting one another. If not for God and what Jesus had already done on the cross, the Church would be consumed; live as slaves in the land of freedom. It’s a dangerous state when free people start enjoying bondages and feel it’s normal.The devil has won another battle but God will win the war; don’t ask me how. Jesus had assured His disciples, you can do nothing without me. That will not change even in this era.
King David depended on the power of God as a Warrior and Defender of His people Israel [Exodus 15:3]. You can also depend on Him today. As you navigate through another new era, hold forth to the name of the Lord. He neither fails nor disappoints. In the name of Jesus, God will see you through because His name is a Strong Tower. You may not have a smooth journey all through but you will reach your destiny. The Psalmist experienced and understood this great God that he exalted, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You. Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous with favor You will surround him as with a shield” [Psalm 5:11-12]. Have a fruitful new year.
Reach Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill at: weefreeministries@yahoo.com or P. O. Box 720035, Houston, Texas, 77272.