God has promised to be with His people (Hebrews 13:5). It is both the sign that they are His people (Exodus 33:16) and that they can be personally confident that they will not be overwhelmed (Joshua 1:9). Whatever their gain or loss, wise and godly people treasure God's presence more than anything else (Psalm 16:11). As a child has confidence in holding a parent's hand, so the believer finds confidence in knowing the Lord's presence (Psalm 63:8).

To say the 'The Lord is my helper' (from Psalm 118:6-7) is not to relegate Him to the level of a servant or professional carer, but to declare that He is committed to side with the believer against those who would attack or discomfort. The picture is of a treaty alliance in which a powerful king has agreed to protect a weak king in times of danger, in return for loyal service. Therefore, fear should be extinguished as confidence grows in the Lord's ability to deal with our enemies, including threatening circumstances or even death (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm. Today's verse (from Psalm 118:6-7) is a statement of Christ's confidence in His Father in His time of suffering. He experienced agony far worse than any which we might experience, because the Lord Jesus was separated from His Father's fellowship (Matthew 27:46), so that we will never be cut off from His love (Romans 8:38-39). So, we should be confident that the Lord has pledged Himself to guard and guide His people.

Confidence comes not from believing in our own strength, but in recognising our weakness and trusting the Lord to act in power. Such confidence gives the courage to stand still when attacked (Ephesians 6:13) and to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25) when the Lord calls us to move forward. The writer's logic is simple – if God is on our side, who can win against us (Romans 8:31)? It sounds easy: paradoxically it is easier to put into practice when the situation is desperate and there are no other options. The challenge is to trust the Lord when we wrongly think that we have enough power to deal with the situation. Today, choose to trust Him to give you the wisdom and humility to seek His power to deal with those people and circumstances which are against you.