Daily Manna · Day 221 · August 9
The LORD on My Side
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”
You saw the name come up, and your stomach dropped before you had read a word.
The psalm does not pretend people are harmless. "What can man do unto me?" is a real question, and the honest answer is plenty. A person can fire you, sue you, or shame you in front of people whose good opinion you want.
The first half of the verse has already answered that question: "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear." The psalm knows exactly what people can do. A few verses later the singer says, "All nations compassed me about," and again, "They compassed me about like bees." He is surrounded, and he says so. Yet he can also say, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." The hostile name on your screen can still do real damage. What it cannot do is reach the place where God holds you.
So read the message when you are ready, and answer it with a steady voice, or not at all. The One who is on your side has already decided how this ends for you: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD."
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 221 is Out of the Dust (Psalm 113:7).