God’s Got My Back by Bryan Craig

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5 ESV

I’ve heard a message spoken into my spirit over and over again in the past few months.  I was also with a young man who recently became homeless, and strangely, he quoted the same message I had been hearing.

This is the message:  GOD’S GOT MY BACK

There are seemingly small things that show me this, like when I forget to set my alarm and he wakes me up because he knows I have an important meeting.  Or when there is something I need to do, and He brings it to my mind, just in the nick of time. I am a chronic planner and list maker by nature, so I’m pretty hard on myself if I miss something.  It blesses my heart to know God cares about these details in my life.  Those kind of things may not sound very spiritual, but to me, they confirm the intimate, loving nature of my Lord, as His Spirit is with me.

But there’s so much more.  I think of how many times I’m wrestling with something, and then, open up my Bible or a Christian book, and God speaks directly into my situation.  Or someone will pop into my mind who I haven’t seen in awhile, and the next morning, I pull out my prayer list which contains hundreds of names (I pray for 4 names each morning), and the person I was just thinking about will come up on my list for prayer.  To me, that’s God!  

And guess what?  It’s Biblical.

Consider the verse in Hebrews above which assures us that God is with us and will NEVER leave us or forsake us.  And this verse highlights a big area where God has our backs.  He’s got our backs in regards to finances.  There have been many times when there has been a financial need, and I’ve seen God bring provision, often in unusual and unexpected ways.  Now I don’t think that means I can just sit on the couch or be a poor steward of my finances and expect God to cover me.  But I do believe we have a loving Father who wants to take care of His children.

I need to do my part, and God will do His.  My part is to seek Him, to invite His counsel and correction, to humble myself, to be obedient to anything He is asking me to do, to Abide with Him.  As I do those things, the Holy Spirit begins to guide my steps and fill my sail.

In Matt 6, Jesus is teaching about prayer, generosity, provision, and He talks about how God clothes the fields with flowers and feeds the birds of the air.  And He says:

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

But this idea of “God’s got my back” is way more than a financial provision thought.  It is understanding that abiding in Christ is a partnership with the Holy Spirit.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV

This passage is usually applied to the importance of community and not becoming isolated on this Christian journey.  But what if your partner is the Holy Spirit?  Just as I was writing this devotional, a Journey guide called me and asked me about the part in The Journey where participants are encouraged to talk/pray to the Holy Spirit.  This unsettled him a bit since there’s not direct scripture telling us to do this.  

The Holy Spirit is described as the “Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9, 1 Peter 4:11) and in many places, He is called the “Spirit of God” (Isaiah 61:1, Acts 5:3-4).  When they asked Jesus how to pray, He said to pray, “Father”…but He also said “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30).  So, The Journey attempts to stretch our thinking and help us understand that the Holy Spirit is personal, and He is our guide, our counselor, our friend, the One Who teaches us all things.  The Holy Spirit has our Back!

We love and serve a triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I’ve become convinced that the One we abide with and interact with the most is the Holy Spirit.  But since He is intimately connected to the Father and Jesus, He reveals their hearts to us at the same time.

I, for one, am so grateful that the Holy Spirit is with me every day, every hour, every minute, every second, and He will never leave me nor forsake me.  He also looks out for my needs and He lifts me up when I fall down.  And when Jesus invited all who were weary and burdened to take His yoke upon them, He was describing a two-person yoke, where His strength could help carry us when we are weak.  (Matt 11:28-30)

One last thought about this:  I’ve been reading through the Bible chronologically, and I love it how God tells Jacob and later tells, Joshua… “The Lord God will be with you wherever you go.” (See Genesis 28:15 and Joshua 1:9)

My homeless friend just texted.  He’s struggling to find a job and the little seed money he has to stay in the cheap motel is running low.  I need to remind him, “God’s got his back.”