Like A Mighty Terrible One
A bold reminder of the divine presence
“But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one:” Jeremiah 20:11
God is with us
The assurance “God is with us” is scattered around the Bible, conveyed in melodious tones. This is the very name Christ bore in Mathew 1:23 — Emmanuel. The Bible needed to introduce Christ as “God with us”, then it becomes Christ’s duty to keep this assurance. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” If you are privileged to follow the story of Christ and his disciples, one of the things that will stand out to you is the confidence of the disciples when they are with Christ. He stood gallantly behind them like a mighty terrible one. No strand of hair on their head could any Herod pluck. The opening phrase in our text reads: “But the Lord is with me” — the scene of a father with his children. The first word is “But”. It’s lovely how the “but” wield this assurance of hope. It simply divides the phrase into positive and negative. You may have troubles, many pains, setbacks, persecutions, persecutors, enemies, failures, needs, turmoil, frailties, weakness, fears, torment and nightmares, you mention them “But the Lord is with you”. Many “buts” may have occurred, but none of these things moved us. What is important is that God is with us — He never leaves nor forsakes. Even when we forsake him, forget him and deny him. He is always with us. In a world that is anti-christian, society and system that is hostile to the believer; we care about none of these things —like Gamaliel, knowing we have a mighty one with us. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31).
A mighty terrible one
Someone read about the earth, stars, sun and galaxy and thought if these were created, how big is the creator? And all the lips could utter was “wow, wow, wow” !!! What can you say? Our God exceeds every imagination, and we limit Him by it. We can not outlive God, we can not overstretch Him nor can we deplete His provisions. When He spoke of His provision, He said “the cattle on a thousand hills…” to wake us up from the belittlement resulting from our festering thought. Words have failed many honest men who wanted to describe God. However, for the sake of communication, the Bible gives us a picture yet is constrained by man’s imagination and the use of words. In Psalm 50:1 - 4 -
The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, … for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. Who else can summon the earth? Space and time will fail me to expatiate on it. Also, you may have noticed how the Bible conveys the attributes and work of God: great mercy, great grace, great compassion, great indignation, great name, great king, great wonders, great counsel, great power, great things, great work, great deliverance, great love . . . really, greatness precedes Him.
Need some more? Here you go: Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing (Isaiah 40:26). We can go on and on talking about the greatness of our God.
A blessed assurance
God is bigger than our best definition of infinite. He is infinitely great. “Okay, okay …!!! how is all this ‘big talk’ going to benefit me”? Just follow along, we’re getting to it.
First, it’s expedient that you know what you have and who is standing behind you, and you won’t fret when they tell you “Go call your daddy”! Here is the same picture well illustrated in Joshua 5.
1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, … heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. 13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
It gladdens the heart when the enemy's heart melts, for the thought of Him is fearful in the camp of the adversary. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 12:6). Yes, the Lord was in their midst yet they could not see Him. Joshua had to ‘look up’. We shouldn’t be intimidated to the point we can’t look up. We have glorified our weaknesses, and our temporary setbacks and forget that there is a God who is mighty to deliver. ‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You (Jeremiah 32:17). He has given us a blessed assurance of His ever-abiding presence. He can save from sin, sickness, Satan and self. He has done it before; parted the Red Sea, shut the mouth of lions, save Lot and his family, Noah and all with him, pulled down the wall of Jericho, and brought Daniel and his friends unharmed from the fiery furnace; He can do it again for you.
In verse 13 of Joshua 5 above, the captain of the host of the Lord had His sword drawn. Why? There wasn’t any obvious war going on. Joshua just had the people circumcised and they were still healing. No nation was ready to take on Israel but here was a captain with a drawn sword. Maybe you’re not, but God is always battle ready. He sees your unforeseen battles and fights on your behalf. While you are asleep the captain of the host of the Lord is awake fighting your battles. Has He not commanded you to fear not? He is mighty in battle, friend. Don’t lose sight of that. Don’t let life intimidate you. Lest I forget, here is the passage: Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!” — Psalm 24:8.
Cheer up, The LORD is your protector; he is your strong fortress. Your God is your protection, and with him You are safe. He protects you like a shield; he defends you and keeps you safe. He is your saviour; he protects you and saves you from violence. … call to the LORD, and he will save you from your enemies (2 Samuel 22:2-7, paraphrased). All of the torment and fear the evil one has planted cease in your life today in the name of Jesus.
Still not saved? It’s time to call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13-15).
Thank you for this great piece. God is with us.