The Goodness of God for Us
Romans 8:26-37, Joshua 4, & Psalm 91:14-16
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(English Standard Version, ESV. Romans 8:31).
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him" (Psalm 91:14-15).
They stood on the banks of a river. Behind them was a wilderness where their people had wandered and died. In front of them was a land inhabited by people who worshipped a pantheon of human-contrived deities. Moses, who was called the friend of God (Exodus 33), was dead, and the weight of his leadership lay on Joshua, tested and tried, but not the one who walked with God until his face shone so brightly that he had to cover his face. Moses led the people out of slavery through the Red Sea on dry ground and now, Joshua would lead the people across the Jordan River on dry ground from wandering to their promised home.
As Joshua watched the people pass over the Jordan, God told him to have one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a large stone from the river bed and bring it to their encampment at Gilgal. Joshua set the stones as a memorial, telling the people,
“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever” (Joshua 4:21-24).
For 40 years, the people of Israel had rebelled and repented countless times. God knew the will of these "stiff-necked people" (Exodus 33:3; Deuteronomy 9:6) and that the cycle of rebellion and repentance would continue. He told them, “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people" (Deuteronomy 9:6). The Hebrew adjective, קָשֶׁה (qāšê), means churlish, cruel, hear-hearted, impudent, stiff-necked, obstinate, and rough. In other words, God knew that by nature these people would not easily obey, yet the land was for them nonetheless. When they obeyed, God was with them. When they disobeyed, He was still for them, providing judges, kings, priests, and eventually, a Messiah to lead them to Him.
The psalmist recognized how God continued to be for him, even in his disobedience, rebellion, and pride. His sin interrupted fellowship with God, but did not prevent him from repentance and restoration of that fellowship. God always makes a way for us to come to Him. His steadfast love waits for us to cry out like the psalmist, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51: 10). In the New Testament, a desperate father came to Jesus, seeking healing for his son. When Jesus told the man that "all things are possible for one who believes," the man responded, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:19-18). Even the ability to believe and confess is God for us. Paul wrote to the Romans,
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God…If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:26-31).
Moses knew the ancient Israelites couldn't be faithful to God for very long. Joshua also understood that rebellion didn't take much to take hold of their hearts. The stones of remembrance were supposed to keep God's hand on His people foremost in their minds so that they might "fear the Lord your God forever” (Joshua 4:24). We have our Bibles, our church services, and even the internet with profound stories and pithy memes to keep the Lord first in our hearts, yet we fail to be faithful in the same ways as those who have gone before us. Our human nature is "prone to wander," needing God to bind our hearts to His with grace (Robinson).
We can be confident that God is for us because He promised,
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16).
Long life means eternity. The troubles and trials of this life give us opportunities to live in the shelter of the Most High (Psalm 91:1), and when we call to Him, he hears us. In His grace, He works in us for our good and His pleasure (Philippians 2:13), and He even gives us the belief when we lack it. Nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8), and even when things are hard (or when we are in a rebellious moment), God is with us and always for us. And that is good news.
This prompt came from a conversation with Pastor Mike Browne. I've begun asking pastors to tell me something about the goodness of God--putting them on the spot so they can't prepare a "right" answer. Look for these in the coming weeks!
Resources:
The ESV Bible. English Standard Version, Crossway, 2001.
Robinson, Robert. "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Hymnary.org, Calvin University, 1758, https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing.
