God is always with me…

The past two weeks have been filled with the certainty of God’s presence along with many emotional experiences. I’m learning to abide in the former rather than let the emotions take me away from the reality of Jesus being with me. He is my source and my song, my stability in both storms and smooth sailing.

Today’s reading is filled with Scripture that describes the blessing of this life of union with Him. While I know the Lord is everywhere, the sense of His presence is precious in the ups and downs, particularly when both are extreme. In the OT, Solomon wrote as he dedicated the temple:

But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! (2 Chronicles 6:18)

People have called church buildings the house of the Lord, as if this was the only place to be with God. That sense is heightened when dozens of people who have it are together, but it need not go away when I walk out the door and into the rest of the world. As Solomon’s prayer continued and the Lord answered, it reminds me of what the NT says:

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

What Solomon constructed was noted for its grandeur, yet now the people of God are described as being the dwelling place of God. The words He spoke to this ancient king are repeated to me and when I read them, I feel as Solomon must have felt. God said to this man:

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. (2 Chronicles 7:12–16)

These days have been days of prayer, not merely for the normal needs of life, but for dramatic changes of weather, for behavior changes in people, for extraordinary love shown to openly sinful people, for God to fill me so I could be like Jesus for those who need Him. And God says this to me:

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13)

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)

He reminds me often that He is with me and that I will know it. What a blessing.

PRAY: Today is a day of rest, ordained by You that I might let You help my soul catch up with my body, settle the emotions, restore alignment with You, remembering that I am a temple for the Holy Spirit  and a place where You live forever. May it be special, not for my sake, but that You will be worshiped and glorified.

Praising God’s Goodness

 

READ Psalm 125–129

Three things bless my heart as I read these short psalms. One is that God is always with me and taking care of me and all His people:

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 125:2)

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. (126:3)

The sense of God’s presence is powerful. Even if life lurches and bad news comes, realizing He is here, close, caring, is a great thing. Imagine being in the den of hungry lions and they stay away. Imagine being in a fire and not feeling the heat or the destruction of the flames. Imagine losing someone beloved and receiving such comfort that the loss is made small because of the gain. The Lord does these great things, and I am glad.

The second is that He is not only here but involved in the details of my life. The psalmist says:

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (127:1–2)

My husband makes much of my ability to sleep. After an excursion yesterday, I felt tired and decided to have a nap. There was a loud football game on television but seconds after lying down on the sofa a bare six feet or so from the TV, the next thing I knew was waking up to a different game two hours later and saying, “Who won the other game?”

Good sleep is only part of it. Because He cares about every detail, I prayed much over a recent project. Each step was a challenge, but I prayed for guidance and ideas — and God provided. The project turned out far better than I’d hoped and I credit the Lord for that success.

As the psalmist says, He removes anxiety by revealing that He is sovereign. I visited a neighbor this week, not a Christian yet but she is totally convinced that nothing happens apart from God’s hand in it, including seemingly bad news, accidents, and other horrors. She said, “He has a purpose and we need to realize that.” I rejoice in that truth. The psalmist says all that we do is in vain if we leave Him out of it, yet we cannot leave Him out of it. He does build the house and watch over the city. Our fretting is the vanity. Knowing He is right here and that He cares is the blessing.

The third truth in these verses is about family . . .

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (127:3)

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. (128:1–2)

May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel! (128:6)

There is not enough space here to tell of how God uses our children to bless us, even though my mothering was not as biblical as I now know it could have been. However, through all sorts of trials and good times, His presence has been evident. He uses our children to ‘raise’ us to stronger faith, to greater thankfulness, and to richer blessings. Not only have we seen our children’s children, but the next generation of five great grandchildren . . . and the doctors told my parents I would not live past sixteen! Only God, only God.

Thanksgiving is next week, yet I am thankful right now for God’s presence, His care, and our family, both our offspring and the larger family of God which is also a great blessing. God is good and for that, I worship and praise Him!