God is for You

It was a normal occurrence for Jesus and His disciples to go to the Mount of Olives, but I imagine He walked up with a little different attitude on that night. His soul was in agony. Perhaps His feet dragged a little as He asked His disciples to watch and pray. His manner, his urgency, made the moment sink into their hearts and their sorrow overwhelmed them to the point of sleep. Jesus went on, a stone throw away, and then knelt down to pour out His grief to the Father. Despite being comforted by an angel, His anxiety produced drops of blood on His forehead.

It was agonizing and yet the disciples could offer no compassion, no comfort; they slept. Peter, who had boasted to follow his friend and Lord to the death (only hours before), was shaken awake twice. Hurt must have stricken Jesus’ face as He looked into His friend’s eyes and asked, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?” Peter answered his plea by again falling asleep. I have often wondered if Peter would have watched and prayed would he have fallen into temptation and listened to his fears.

Within a few hours that ghastly moment came. Peter did as Jesus had foretold and denied Him three times. Jesus was at His darkest hour. He had been abandoned by His friends, tortured and ridiculed by His enemies, and the moment His heart dreaded was still before Him. And yet, standing in the midst of His accusers, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. It was the very moment when he had rejected Him for the third time. What was it in His eye as He acknowledged His close friend’s betrayal? Hurt? Pity? Love? Perhaps, it was all three.

The thought that struck me upon my most recent reading of this story was: Surely, God is for us. This was Jesus' darkest moment. He was in pain that could never be imagined. And yet, in that moment He was so personal, so attentive, that He turned His eye upon Peter. He could not let His friend off the hook, for grief would bring repentance. Jesus had so many things distressing His mind, the very guilt of the world preparing to fall upon His shoulders. The beautiful thing about this moment is that God is never so universally loving that he is no longer personally loving. He is not so caught up in solving the large problems of the world or even the large problems of individuals that He stops caring for the smaller problems and hurts.

This is evident in many other stories. Take for example Christ’s weeping at Lazarus tomb. He told His disciples that it was good for Him to tarry that the disciples might believe. Lazarus’ resurrection must have made a lasting impression on the entire community, perhaps even the entire nation, as well as Christians of all ages and yet in that moment, at the tomb, Jesus wept for the pain of Mary and Martha.

I have often heard the phrase “God is for you” spoken throughout my life. I thought of it as a sort of overstatement of what was quite obvious. Of course God is for me. He paid for my sins. He loves me. He has blessed me abundantly. Of course He is not against me. However, the picture that is now beginning to form in my mind is one that is much more personal. God is not simply for me in a universal, colossal way, but also in a nitty gritty, thick and thin sort of way. David often writes of this idea in the Psalms and the picture he describes is God fighting on His behalf. Psalm 18 may be one of the best examples. He writes of God coming down on the dark thunder clouds, not only in an amazing rescue from his enemies, but also as his support and his friend. Verses 16-19 say, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

Can you see it? Can you see yourself in the dark hour of battle? You are surrounded, but at your side is the undefeatable One. He doesn’t rescue us from every trying moment, but fights with us against every foe. He is there, at your side, shouting encouragement, supporting within and without. Do you hear His voice in the midst of your pain and disappoints? “Child, I’m with you and I’m for you.”

You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. ~ Psalm 56:8-9