As I was waiting on the Lord at the start of this year, I heard the Spirit of the sovereign Lord speak and declare this phrase: “He is for you!”
God is for you. Don’t underestimate the importance and power of these four words as you face 2023. Meditate on them. Hold them as a treasure you can draw from, no matter what the days ahead hold. Write them on your heart and burn them into your memory.
‘Let’s Do This Together’
Recently, I was on a hike with my family. During the journey, we came across an old railway tunnel. The tunnel was not long; we could see the exit from the entrance. However, when we were in the tunnel, the darkness was consuming, and my son became scared; he refused to move forward and turned to go back.
No amount of spoken encouragement would change his mind. So my husband walked back and put his guiding father’s arm around our son’s shoulders. He turned him around and began to walk with him every step of the way, through the darkness into the light.
Immediately, the Spirit spoke to me and said, “This is what I mean when I say that I am for you.” In every dark tunnel we will face, He is for us. He doesn’t stand aloof and command us to come. Rather, He is a loving Father who turns back, places His arm around us and says, “I am with you. Let’s do this together.”
Psalm 103 (NLT) declares, “May I never forget the good things he does for me” (v. 2) because “The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him” (v. 13). “[T]he love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him” (v. 17).
Our key for 2023 is to remain in an attitude of worship while standing in awe of our great heavenly Father, knowing that He is for us. Remember His irrefutable faithfulness and His covenant with you through the precious gift of Jesus (Heb. 13:20-21).
Commanded to Bless and Not Curse
As I was seeking the Lord about this, I came to the story of Balaam and Balak in Numbers 22-24. The Israelites were fast approaching the end of their wilderness journey. They had been fruitful and multiplied, and they were being transformed from slaves to soldiers in preparation for taking the promised land. Fear came upon their enemies and Balak, the Moabite king, hired Balaam, a diviner, to curse the Israelites to stop their advancement. No matter how hard Balak and Balaam tried, God would not allow Balaam to do anything but bless the Israelites. He declared in Numbers 23:20-23:
“Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it! No misfortune is in His plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the Lord their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king. God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. No curse can touch Jacob; no magic has any power against Israel. For now, it will be said of Jacob, ‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’”
No curse could succeed against Israel because God, the sovereign Lord, had declared they had been blessed. The most revered diviner of the day could not counter the fact that God was for Israel. He could not undo the effects of the blessing of God over His people. Even when he tried, he could do nothing but bless them.
In their folly, what Balak and Balaam missed was that God only had eyes for Israel; they were His heart, and His desire was to bless them. He was for them and protected them against their enemies, turning their attempts to curse into blessings.
Every Curse Will Be Turned to a Blessing
The Lord says that He will do likewise for His beloved children this year. Where people or circumstances move against you, don’t fear. He is at work to ensure that every curse is turned into a blessing. He is a faithful God. His Word is irrefutable. God does not lie, and His love and faithfulness are irrevocable (Num. 23:19).
In all the years that Israel journeyed through the wilderness, He never gave up on them. He kept His covenant even when they didn’t, even when they turned away. If over the last few years you have pulled back from God, hear His heart in this promise for you. He is for you!
Just as God remained faithful to Israel, He has remained faithful to you through Jesus. Know that Jesus stands before the throne right now, making intercession for you. He is for you. He has never given up on you, no matter what choices you have made (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). Come home. Let God be the one who carries you, provides for you and calls you into the fullness of who you were created to be.
Just as His heart was for Israel in Numbers, so His heart is for you. Through the finished work of Jesus on the cross, know that these four words are your inheritance this year:
God is for you!
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Charissa Steffens is a writer and teacher with a passion for the prophetic and Scripture. Through her ministry, Abiding Matters, she loves to see people come closer to Father God. She hosts the podcast “Abiding Conversations with Charissa Steffens” and writes for various online Christian publications. To contact Charissa or learn more, visit Abiding Matters.
