He Stands With You

“For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save [him] from those that condemn his soul.” (Ps 109:31 AV)

Praise the LORD for our Advocate who stands at our side!  The Adversary can level any accusation he wishes.  He would probably be right.  No doubt his tally book is full.  No doubt he has minions watching my every move and entering it in a grand log book to present it to the Judge for His consideration.  No doubt the times, places, and details of my sin are spelled out to the letter.  The book of Revelation teaches us that the Devil stands ready to accuse the brethren.  He sees pleasure in bringing up all our failures and sins.  It is not so much an issue of his delusional self-righteousness.  He knows he is wicked.  Rather, he is testing God’s grace and faithfulness.  Surely, he thinks, there is some limit to God’s grace.  Surely, he thinks, God would be justified in going back in His promises.  If so, then he can accuse God of sin.  We are a mere pawn in the chess game between Satan and the LORD.  One in which he will lose badly.  Why?  Because we have Jesus Christ, the righteous, who will stand at our side as the wicked one condemns our souls.

What a verse!  Just reading it over and again brings a smile to the face.  Go ahead, Satan, say what you will!  You cannot condemn anyone.  You have no power.  All you can do is accuse.  That is as far as it goes.  My LORD and Savior have given me His white robe of righteousness.  When the Father looks upon me, He sees perfection.  Not that I am perfect.  I never will be.  At least in this life.  But when the saint arrives at the gates of heaven, the first thing he or she receives is the white robe of Christ’s righteousness.  Too bad, wicked adversary, but all the slings and arrows you fling at me will not stick.  They will be deflected by the One who stands by my side.  Just like Joshua the priest, whom you condemned before the LORD, we will receive a new garment.  You may throw mud at the stained ones we wear now, but when we stand before the LORD at the day of our judgment, all your efforts to drag us to hell with you will be futile at best.

Sometimes we condemn ourselves far more than we need.  We are guilty.  That is for sure.  We condemn our own hearts because we are guilty of that which we did.  Conviction has set in.  We confess.  We forsake.  What we do not do is to let it go.  Jesus is by our side.  He defends us against ourselves.  As we go down the road of self-allegation, He reminds us that we are not pure or good.  But He has made us pure and good.  As we go down the spiral of self-loathing, He reminds us that we are His workmanship.  He does not make garbage.  Improvements are part of the process.  If improvements are necessary, then failure and fault are also part of our reality.  I am so grateful for the verse above.  My heart cannot help but read it over and again.  What a truth!  We are not good.  We do fail.  We do follow the flesh into all sorts of evil.  We do fail to please God.  We do not trust Him to the full.  We are not what we could be.  Yet, there is someone who stands by our side and will not allow condemnation of the soul to happen!  We are secure in Christ.  Strive after righteousness because you are secure.  Don’t strive to prove yourself.  Strive because He is faithful!  He is right there.  He will never leave.  Refer the matter to your chief advocate.