God is on My Side
by Jim Person
One morning we had an early morning meeting and I really didn’t want to participate. Once I dragged myself to the place for the meeting and attended, I began to enter into worship, and God ministered into my soul and spirit. This is often the case for me when I am distressed and discouraged.
It says in Psalm 56:8, ‘You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book’. This could be translated, ‘You keep track of all my wanderings’ instead of sorrows. I find in my life, when I get off track and look to myself for a pat on the back, that’s when I need to turn my head upwards. It’s often the case, when my flesh acts up and I want to crawl back under the covers of my bed, that, as I press into the opposite act, or spirit, that God brings the breakthroughs in my life.
If you are discouraged or in despair … look up and call out to your God! Do the opposite of what you want to do and see God scatter your enemies before you. Glorify your Saviour and see the thing that has seemed insurmountable fade like a morning mist on a new sunny day. God is on your side. If you can identify today with what I am saying, perhaps you might like to pray the following prayer.
Prayer: Jesus, help! My enemies are surrounding me. I need Your wisdom and insight into my situation. I want to retreat Lord. I want to crawl into a hole and wallow in my despair. This is how I feel right now, Lord. Help me to do the opposite of what I am feeling, the opposite of what I’m thinking, and worship You. Change my view of my situation as I turn towards You in its midst, and see You working in it. I love You, Lord. ‘Transformer of my soul’, transform me. Jesus, my strength and rock, renew my spirit, and strengthen my feeble legs to make the move towards You, so I can see You’re on my side. Amen.
Jim Person Jim grew up in Alaska and from a small child commercial fished every summer with his family. God called him, his wife Tanya, and their four children to move to Hungary as missionaries in 2003. God then led him to join Ellel Ministries in 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where he is now serving with the Ellel USA team. Jim and Tanya have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom. They also love mentoring the existing and developing Ellel teams wherever God leads them. Jim also has a real gift for working with the land to create a beautiful and welcoming environment.
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