Understanding that God Is on My Side

In Philippians 2:13 it says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (NLT)

No matter what I’m going to face in the next week, month, or year, I’m not going to face it alone. God is with me, he is in me, and he is for me.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT).

“God is working in you.” The word “working” in Greek is the word energos, from which we get the word “energy.” God is the energy driver in my life. I’m not just going on willpower and I’m not just going on my own power. God says he gives me the power I need, no matter what I’m facing.

Not only is he in me, he is with me. The Bible says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you . . . On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:18, 20 NIV). That’s quite a promise! The Bible says Christ is in me; the Bible says I’m hidden with Christ in God; and the Bible says I’m sealed with the Holy Spirit. That means for the devil to get to me, he’s got to get through the Trinity! That’s pretty good protection. That is a great fear reliever.

Not only is God with and in me, God is also for me. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, no one can defeat us” (NCV).

When a shepherd leads the sheep, there are always guard dogs at the back, nipping at the sheep to keep them moving in the right direction.

The Bible says the guard dogs in my life are goodness and mercy. God gives me the things I don’t deserve—that is his goodness. And he doesn’t give me the things I do deserve—that’s his mercy.

Am I feeling the smile of God in my life? If not, I might not really know God. Some people think God is like the angry parent who’s mad at them all the time. No. God is for me!

To be happy, I need to get up every morning and say, “God, thank you for being with me today, for being in me today, and for being for me today.”

God has not left me alone in my struggles to do his will. He wants to come alongside me and be within me to help. God gives me the desire and the power to do what pleases him. The secret to a changed life is to submit to God's control and let him work. I can ask God to help me desire to do his will.