Romans 8:31 – If God is for us, who can be against us?
Is God for you? Is he on your side? Does he really have a good plan for all of this?

I’ve found these are the deepest core questions that guide my life. The answers determine my energy level, my attitude, my endurance and my actions. Let me have a moment of pure honesty here with you today. Just because I show up here every morning with joy and share the love of Jesus with excitement, doesn’t mean my life is perfect and without messes. I can show up here today with joy in the middle of a family crisis because I KNOW my answers. I know God is for me. I know God is on my side. I know he really does have a good plan for all of this.

Circumstances cannot shake my truth. We can only see the surface level of eternal things happening in our midst. We only see the here and now, God sees the end from the beginning. Nothing is impossible for him, no one is out of his reach, no situation is too far gone, and it’s not too late for his plan. Not now and not ever. Oh the load we carry when we play God, assuming it’s all up to us. Girl, sit down and take a breath, God’s got you and he’s got this!

When I started truly believing God is for me, my life changed.

Do you know God is for you? Do you know that to be your truth?

What if he’s disappointed in you? What if you have a past? What if you carry around secret shame and guilt that comes knocking on your door, reminding you that you’re simply not good enough? Is that from God? Is he sending you on that guilt trip? Is he picking at your scabs? Is he behind your anxiety?

There’s a song called “God Only Knows”. I’ve heard it a hundred times, but never got it until this weekend. You see, I have a beautiful 17 year old Prodigal Daughter. You know the story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible who left his family to live on his own terms and his own ways and made a real mess of his life? Yes, that’s the truth of our story right now. Our daughter has been gone for over 2 weeks. She has left our family. But read the story of the Prodigal Son and you’ll understand why I have hope … I know the ending!

So this song “God Only Knows” has a more personal meaning to me now because I don’t know exactly where my girl is or what she’s doing. But I trust God does. I trust he is for her and not against her. He has a plan in all of this and nothing will be wasted.

Listen to these words:

God only knows what you’ve been through
God only knows what they say about you
God only knows how it’s killing you
But there’s a kind of love that God only knows

There are things about you, about your life, about your past and about your right now that God only knows. You carry these things around in hidden shame believing if others knew, they wouldn’t accept you. If they knew about your mistakes. If they knew about your struggles. If they knew the truth behind your lies. If they knew the REAL you, no one could love you. But God knows. He knows it all. Honey he knew about your mistakes before you ever made them. He knows every detail of everything you’ve been through. God knows all about you, and there’s a kind of love that God only knows. The kind of love that doesn’t stop for even one second. The kind of love that never withdraws no matter how hard you’ve pushed it away. The kind of love that is in relentless pursuit of YOU. The kind of love that will be stopped by no one and nothing, ever. This is God’s love.

It’s God’s love for me. It’s God’s love for my Prodigal Daughter. It’s God’s love for you.

And his love is FOR you, not against you.

The enemy uses fear to keep you in bondage. Fear that tells you there’s something wrong with you. Fear that tells you you’ll never come back from the things you’ve done. Fear that tells you you’re unloveable. He attacks our confidence and our identity. He makes us question God’s approval. But may I remind you of perhaps the most powerful scripture in all of the new testament? Romans 8:1 says “Therefore, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus, you have been set free.”

God doesn’t look at you with condemning eyes. If you have accepted his son Jesus, he looks at you and sees the girl he sent his son to die for. That’s it, plain and simple. He’s not angry at you. He’s not against you.

He is for you. He is for your return. He is for your happiness. He is for your success. He is for your breakthrough. He is for your marriage. He is for your health. He is for your business. He is for your family. HE IS FOR YOU.

He is behind you. Oh how I wish you could hear him cheering your name. Looking down on you this morning saying “that’s my girl … she’s up … she’s gonna do it today, I just know it. She’s gonna show up and live the life I have given her like only she can. Oh I just know she’s gonna do it.” God is for you.

God has a beautiful plan for your life, and he’s just waiting for you to step into it. And it doesn’t matter how many missteps you’ve taken in the past – it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve missed his plan and chosen your own in the past – God has a love for you like none other. A love like only he knows. And his love is right here for you today, waiting to guide you back to his beautiful plan for your life … won’t you step into it?

FOR YOU. And since God is for you, because remember, there is no condemntation for those who are in Christ Jesus, WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU?

Who can be against you? Not your ex. Not your boss. Not your negative co-worker. Not your neighbor. Not your haters and naysayers. Nope, not one.

Except you. You are the only one who can get in the way here. Are you against you? Perhaps you need to get out of your own way today. Buy into the truth that God is for you and jump on the support train and BE FOR YOU TOO. Wallow in his love. Step into his plan. Trust him fully. Believe what HE says about you. He says you are a masterpiece. He says you are worth dying for. He says you are fully forgiven and redeemed. He says he can use all of this for good.

Believe it.