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By J. Howard Shaw
“Without God at my side I never could have made it.” Thus spoke a marine veteran of the bloody battle of Tarawa. How similar do these words sound to those of the ancient writer who said, “Because [God] is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (v. 8)? Both statements constitute a confession of the basic human need for divine reinforcement. Both, likewise, affirm an attitude of confidence in the reality of that reinforcement.
“God is at my right hand!” Let this be our faith! What is there that we dare not undertake? Of what shall we be afraid? Even death loses its terrors, and we can say with the psalmist, “My flesh also shall rest in hope … Thou wilt show me the path of life” (v. 11). Most of us will never experience a Tarawa, but all of us need divine reinforcement if we are to face life and death victoriously.
The key to such a faith is decision. It was because the psalmist had “set the Lord always before” him that he was confident of God’s presence and blessing. Best of all, to have God “at my right hand” now, leads to “fullness of joy” at God’s right hand “forevermore.”
Pray earnestly for the young men and women from Christian homes and churches who are exposed to the temptations and hazards of war; pray for the wounded, and for prisoners of war.
Originally published June 4, 1944
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