IS GOD ON YOUR SIDE?

God is never on the side of the rich.

I thought I was Emamode Adewale’s boss, reprimanded her harshly for an infraction and got the surprise of my life.  The Lord said to me: “How dare you talk to my ‘son’ like that.  Go and apologise to her at once.” 

I had always assumed I was a child of God only to discover to my cost that, once Emamode was involved, I was not.  How can one be a child of God one minute and be disqualified the next?  That is kingdom dynamics.

Whose God is God?

Is God on your side?  Is he your God?  Don’t be too quick to answer if you are a Christian or a Moslem.  It all depends on what side you are on.

I sat in the High Court in Port Harcourt and watched the proceedings with mild amusement.  A middle-aged man, very simply dressed, took the stand.  He was probably a poor farmer.  Nevertheless, he was suing the multinational oil company, Shell Petroleum.  He claimed Shell dug a trench in his village and failed to fill it back.  His young son fell into it and died.  He was suing Shell for compensation.  Instead of just paying him, Shell hired a highfalutin lawyer to defend its case.  I asked myself: “How can this man possibly win against almighty Shell?  If necessary, Shell could buy the judge and buy the case.”

Then the Lord spoke to me.  “Femi,” he said, “Shell has a lot of resources.  But I am on the side of the weak.”

Kingdom Dynamics

Let me highlight this revelation.  God is never on the side of the rich, but he is always on the side of the poor (James 2:5).  He is never on the side of the boss, but he is always on the side of the servant.  He is the God of the wife and not the God of the husband (1 Peter 3:7).  He is the God of the single and the widowed and not the God of the married.  He is the God of the sick and not the God of the healthy (Matthew 9:12).  He is the God of the disadvantaged and not the God of the privileged (Luke 6:24-25).  He is always on the side of the least of Jesus’ brethren (Matthew 25:40).

So God being on your side is not a function of your faith; it all depends on which side you happen to be at any given time or circumstance.  The angel greeted Gideon and told him the Lord is on his side.  Gideon started arguing with him.  How can you say the Lord is on my side when all these bad things are happening to me? 

But the Lord is on Gideon’s side precisely because bad things are happening to him.  If Gideon had just won the lottery, he would have assumed that the Lord was on his side.  But God is not on the side of the fortunate.  He is on the side of the unfortunate.  God is always on the side of those with reproaches in life.

Elijah’s Strategy

On Mount Carmel, when Elijah wanted God to answer him by fire, he told his lieutenants to pour water on his sacrifice until it was completely drenched.  Elijah did this because he understood that the worse the situation, the greater the power of God.  In order to draw God fully to his side, he made sure he was extremely disadvantaged relative to the prophets of Baal.  So he loaded the dice against himself by soaking the sacrifice with water.  He knew that the more impossible the situation, the greater the glory of God in overcoming it. 

Similarly, when the Israelites faced the Midianites in battle, God secured victory for them by reducing their army from thirty-two thousand to only three hundred men, thereby teaching them that by strength shall no man prevail.

Strength in Weakness

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, and yet God was on their side.  The man is only your driver but remember God is on his side.  All she does is cook for you and clean after you .but be careful; God is on her side.  He is a weather-beaten Lazarus begging at your gate but beware; God is on his side.

Therefore, a believer should never support the strong.  Don’t give to the rich (Proverbs 22:16).  Don’t pray for the well-heeled.  Only throw a party for beggars and vagrants (Luke 14:12-14).  And if you are broke, don’t ask a rich man to pray for you or with you.  You might just be looking to him for assistance.  Look for a man who is dirt poor and ask him to join faith with you. 

God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.