When the whole world seems to be against you, remember — God is not. every miracle God has stored up for us isn’t just for our benefit, it’s for His great name. Marvin Mitchell exhorts us to put the past behind and turn our faces toward the God who goes before us.
There are moments when life makes it difficult to believe that God is working in your favor. The circumstances have not changed. The pressure has not lifted. The enemy still seems close, and yesterday’s mistakes can feel closer than tomorrow’s promises.

But Scripture gives us something stronger than what we feel.

Psalm 56 declares, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”

In his message “God Is For You,” Marvin Mitchell brought a simple but powerful reminder to North Cities: God is with you, God is for you, and your past does not have the authority to determine the future God has prepared for you. Through Psalm 23, Psalm 56 and other passages, he challenged us to stop allowing regret, fear and the enemy’s accusations to keep our attention fixed backward when God is calling us forward.

GOD IS WITH YOU IN THE VALLEY
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. We hear it at funerals, quote it during difficult seasons and find comfort in its description of the Lord as our Shepherd. But the beauty of the psalm becomes even greater when we recognize the hardship surrounding David’s declaration.

David knew fear. He knew uncertainty. He knew what it was like to run, to experience betrayal and to wonder what tomorrow would bring. Yet his confidence in God was not determined by the circumstances around him.

“The Lord is my shepherd.”

That was more than beautiful poetry. It was a declaration of trust.

David could walk through the valley of the shadow of death without surrendering to fear because he knew he wasn’t walking through it alone. His Shepherd was with him.

That same truth matters when your own valley becomes personal. When difficulty reaches your family, your finances, your health, your relationships or your peace of mind, God does not watch from a distance. He walks with you.

You may not always feel His presence, but His faithfulness is not dependent upon your feelings. You are not alone. God is with you.

YOUR LIFE IS PERSONAL TO GOD
One of the most encouraging truths in Psalm 23 is how personally David speaks about God.

He is my Shepherd. He leads me. He restores my soul. He is with me.

Jesus carries that picture into the New Testament when He identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. God’s relationship with His church is corporate, but His saving work also reaches us individually.

Your well-being matters to God.

Your pain matters to Him. Your struggle with sin matters. Your family matters. Your fear matters. Your future matters.

You do not disappear into a crowd when you come into God’s presence.

And you don’t have to become perfect before you belong in church. North Cities isn’t a gathering of people who have everything figured out. We are people who need the grace of Jesus.

Every family has struggles. Every person has a story. Every believer still needs God’s mercy.

The good news of the gospel is that your sin is not greater than God’s grace.

Your Greatest Mistake Is No Match for God’s Grace
Sometimes our greatest struggle isn’t believing God can forgive other people. It’s believing His grace still applies to us.

We remember the decision we wish we could change. We replay the conversation. We wonder what life might look like if we hadn’t made that mistake. Eventually, yesterday’s failure starts influencing today’s identity.

Regret asks questions that can never be answered: What if? What might have been? What would my life look like if I had done something differently?

But the gospel does not call us to spend the rest of our lives living in the residue of forgiven sin.

Sin is destructive. It takes us farther than we intended to go and costs more than we expected to pay. Yet Marvin Mitchell reminded North Cities of a truth every believer needs to remember: your greatest mistake is no match for the God who is for you.

God’s mercy is greater.

God’s grace is greater.

And Jesus gave everything so you could have life—and have it more abundantly.

STOP LOOKING BACK AT WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU BEYOND
There was a memorable physical illustration in this message: without moving your feet or changing direction, try looking directly behind you.

We simply weren’t designed to spend our lives looking backward.

The same is true spiritually.

God has called us forward, yet regret continually tries to turn our attention toward yesterday. We replay failures God has forgiven. We resurrect mistakes God has covered with grace. We allow an old version of ourselves to define the person Jesus is transforming us into today.

But your past belongs behind you.

That does not mean pretending it never happened. God’s grace doesn’t require denial. Instead, grace allows us to acknowledge where we’ve been without allowing it to control where we’re going.

If Jesus has forgiven you, you don’t have to keep punishing yourself for what He has already covered.

There is a future in front of you.

GOODNESS AND MERCY ARE FOLLOWING YOU
David concludes Psalm 23 with an extraordinary promise:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

Not only on the good days.

Not only when you get everything right.

All the days of your life.

Marvin Mitchell described goodness and mercy as two agents of God’s grace standing between the believer and yesterday—pushing us forward instead of allowing our past to pull us backward.

That changes how we see our story.

When you look backward, don’t only see the failure. See the mercy that met you there.

Don’t only remember what you lost. Remember the God who sustained you.

Don’t only remember who you were. Remember what Jesus has been doing in you.

God’s goodness and mercy have been present in places you may not have recognized at the time. And they’re still following you today.

DON’T LET THE ENEMY DISTRACT YOU FROM GOD’S FUTURE
The enemy would love to keep believers staring backward.

If he can keep your attention consumed by shame, fear, bitterness and regret, he can distract you from what God is calling you to do today.

In Luke 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus told him, “Get thee behind me.”

That provides a powerful picture for our own spiritual lives.

The enemy doesn’t belong in front of you, determining where you’re going. Put the accusation behind you. Put the distraction behind you. Put the condemnation behind you.

You have somewhere else to look.

Look to Jesus.

He is the author and finisher of your faith.

The enemy may remind you of your past, but God is calling you toward His promises.

GOD HAS PREPARED A TABLE FOR YOU
Psalm 23 does not say God removes every enemy before He blesses His people. David says God prepares a table in the presence of his enemies.

The opposition may still be present, but God is present too.

The valley may still exist, but the Shepherd is there.

The enemy may still accuse, but goodness and mercy are behind you.

And there is a table in front of you.

Throughout the closing moments of the message, that table became a picture of everything God has prepared for His people: healing, wholeness, sanctification, salvation, renewed mercy and restored hope.

The challenge is to stop staring backward long enough to receive what God has placed before us.

GOD IS FOR YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FUTURE
For people searching for a church in Garland, Texas, or throughout Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett and Wylie, this message speaks to something every family experiences: seasons when we need to know that God has not forgotten us.

Whether you’re in Dallas County, Collin County or Rockwall County, you may be walking through circumstances that make God’s promises difficult to see. Your family may need restoration. You may need freedom from your past. You may be praying for healing, wrestling with regret or simply trying to find hope again.

Psalm 56 gives us a declaration for those moments:

“This I know; for God is for me.”

Your circumstances do not have the final word.

Your past does not have the final word.

Your mistakes do not have the final word.

The enemy does not have the final word.

Jesus does.

TURN YOUR EYES TOWARD JESUS
There comes a moment when we have to stop looking backward.

Leave yesterday where it belongs.

Receive the mercy that is new today.

Trust the Shepherd who is walking with you through the valley, and turn your attention toward the future He has prepared.

Maybe you don’t know exactly how God will work everything together. Maybe you cannot yet see the restoration, healing or answer you’ve been praying for.

You can still know this:

God is with you.

God has not abandoned you.

Goodness and mercy are following you.

Jesus is leading you forward.

And God is for you.