PSALM 56:9

The longer I live is the more I am convinced that some things are worth knowing. It really makes a difference what you know and what you don’t know. If I only knew that 2025 was going to turn out and end the way it did, then I would have worried less. I wouldn’t have had so many sleepless nights. I would have done what David did after he prayed and wept and fled from his own son, Absalom, who hotly pursued him to slay and destroy him – David laid down and slept (Psalm 3:5). He left it in the Lord’s hands. He declared after sleeping, “. . . I awaked; for the Lord, sustained me” (Psalm 3:5). What encouraging words of great solace! David’s knowledge of God’s divine overshadowing sustained him in literally the worst crises of his life. From him, we learn, it is not only what you know but who.

In our passage of reflection today, as David bitterly complains about his numerous devious enemies, whose sole intention was to completely devour and swallow him up, he eventually comes to the brilliant revelation that God is not only with him but for him. After itemizing his woes, he declares, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know: for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). Maybe some have not yet come to the realization that the enemy and all the powers of evil darkness are not afraid of us. In ourselves, we are pathetic and pitiful. In fact, we are outmatched and outranked. There is really no contest. It’s interesting how David puts it, “…he fighting daily, oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High” (Psalm56: 1,2). The enemy of our souls has no scruples or code of decency. His aim is our total annihilation. He specializes in mass destruction. He is viciously fierce.

However, the Psalmist here learns the art of successfully subduing and overcoming the enemy. He has no victory until we call for backup and divine assistance, and the enemy knows it too. It’s worth repeating here, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back . . .” I remain convinced that the enemy is no match for our Savior. It may seem dismal and despondent, dark and foreboding, but I just want to interject here “. . . Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them” (2 Kings 6:16). The enemies violently nipping at our heels shall turn back. In Jesus, we are guaranteed victory!

The Psalmist is recharged and refueled by these heaven-sent words and message. He encourages his own soul. He reminds himself of what he knows. He powerfully, unapologetically blurts out, “This I know; for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9).

I wonder if we know that – that God is not only with us but for us! The apostle Paul corroborates this so brilliantly in Romans 8:31, “. . . if God be for us, who can be against us?” This is something that we must know for sure. Knowing this, I believe, will certainly revolutionize our lives and our church this year 2026! May we proactively, incessantly recite and rehearse these words until it becomes alive in our psyche – “This I know: for God is for me!”