“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

No matter what you’re going to face in the next week, month, or year, you’re not going to face it alone. God is with you, he is in you, and he is for you.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT).

God is working in you. The word “working” in Greek is the word energeo, from which we get the word “energy.” God is the energy driver in your life. You can’t survive on just willpower. God can give you the power you need though his Spirit at work in your life, no matter what you’re facing.

God is working with you. Not only is he in you, he is with you. The Bible says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. . . . On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:18, 20 NIV). That’s quite a promise! The Bible says Christ is in you, you’re hidden with Christ in God, and you’re sealed with the Holy Spirit. That means for the devil to get to you, he’s got to get through the Trinity! That’s pretty good protection. That’s a great fear reliever.

God is for you. Not only is God with you and in you, God is also for you. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, no one can defeat us” (NCV).

When a shepherd leads the sheep, there are always guard dogs at the back, nipping at the sheep to keep them moving in the right direction.

You can think of God’s goodness and mercy as guard dogs in your life. The Bible says, “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:7 NKJV). God gives you the things you don’t deserve—that is his goodness. And he doesn’t give you the things you do deserve—that’s his mercy.

Do you ever feel the smile of God in your life? If you don’t, you might not really know God. Some people think God is like the angry parent who’s mad at them all the time. No. God is for you!

If you want to be happy, you need to get up every morning and say, “God, thank you for being with me today, for being in me today, and for being for me today.”