The Lord is near . . .

The oddest prayer Christians make is, “God be with us.” It is odd because where else is He? God is omnipresent, a big word meaning He is everywhere. It took me awhile to realize that what people really mean when they pray that way is, “God, may we sense or realize Your presence with us.”

How does that sense become lost? It happened to Adam in the garden after he sinned . . .

“And they (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8–9)

Hiding from God might happen because of sin but hiding from God is like trying to hide from the air around us. David pondered this impossible task and wrote:

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (Psalm 139:7–12)

Yet he knew, as do all of God’s people, that the sense of God’s presence can be lost. We sin and turn our backs. We resist the voice of the Holy Spirit. We get so busy with this life that we neglect the life of Christ within us. Yet, as Tozer says, God is here even when we are unaware of Him. No matter how dark our life might feel or how devoid of His being, He said He would never leave us or forsake us. He is here.

A man known as Brother Lawrence wrote a classic book around 1895 called, “Practicing the Presence of God” giving advice that might seem simple to some. He wrote: “He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”

However simple this might seem, those who do it discover the value of this practice. At times, God’s presence is so obvious His breath can be felt on our cheeks, His laughter heard in our ears, His hugs touching our heart.

I’ve tried to make those things happen — by my imagination I suppose, but it doesn’t happen because I have a creative mind. Sometimes His presence is suddenly with me when I least expect it. This is a God-thing and when He comes with, “Where are you?” the important response must be, “Here I am!”

^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, I am blessed by Your presence, even at those times when it seems You are not here. Since You have promised to be with me always, paying no attention to those feelings is easier, as is being glad that I can say, “God, thank You that You are here with me, now and always.”

NOTE: Lots of bruising, wound like I've been stabbed, but blessed that I can sleep, and that movement becomes easier each day. Thankful for my hubby who has remarkable care-giving skills and thankful that the Lord lightened my load and developed muscles (a few weeks with a personal trainer) so I have some that take over for the others that are not working very well. Large pressure bandages are off, but left blisters. Nasty.

Banishing monsters

The New Testament book of Hebrews speaks of Christ as superior to the old ways. When the author gets to chapter 12, he begins to lay out the response I should have to the wonderful faithfulness of God. I’m to lay aside sin, run with endurance, heed His discipline, strive for peace with others, abandon bitterness, and pay attention to God because He is a consuming fire. Then into chapter 13, he says to continue in brotherly love, keep marriage pure, and don’t fall in love with money . . .

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

While the promise to never be forsaken seems connected to an inordinate attachment to money, it seems to me that this is the foundation for all of how God wants me to respond to Him. He is here. He will never leave me. Nothing or no one can change that. Because of His presence, I can do as He asks.

Years ago, I was reading one of those classics about the faith. I cannot remember who wrote it, but he said something like this: the presence of God is like the very air about us. Since reading that, whenever I want to experience God’s nearness, I think about the atmosphere around me and am instantly aware of Him.

This is not a gimmick. It is a reality because He is everywhere, including right here. He will never leave me, and even more, He is my helper. I’ve nothing to fear. I can do all that He asks. If I had to do it without help, I would have no such confidence.

Yet fears do trickle in when a danger looms on the horizon. Like Chambers says, I may not be a coward about a fear and plan on facing it, yet there is a dread. On a small scale, it could be a dentist appointment for a root canal, or a cardio-version for an irregular heartbeat. But it could also be the terminal illness of someone I love (or my own termination). Life is filled with things that could be feared.

For me, this promise of God is for those things that rear up like monsters in the night and try to take my eyes off the fact of Him. The only way to meet this kind of fear is to take a deep breath and remember what God says. Plaster those words all over the monster. Refuse to let those threats fill my heart. Trust God. He cares; the monster does not.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

I’ve said it before and must repeat it again: fear and agitation, worry and doubt, even sin, are all impossible when realizing the presence of the Lord. I do not have to do this alone. He is here — so all monsters of darkness must leave.

His presence, angels, and God’s keeping power

2 Kings 6:1–7:20, Mark 15:16–47, Proverbs 6:20–27

The Proverbs of Solomon offer a great deal of advice and warnings, particularly against adultery. However, much of that advice could fit any sort of sin.

For instance, he wrote, “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil . . . .” (Proverbs 6:20–24)

My father and mother didn’t hold Bible commands over me. Nonetheless, they gave good advice and warnings because they loved me. Not everyone gives advice that way. Advice should be objective, and without bias. A few people offer it based on their own fears and phobias rather than what is true. An elderly relative once expressed to me that I should not go out at night by myself because of all the ‘bad people’ that could hurt me. I told her that I had the protection of dozens of angels and she was speechless.

Today’s OT narrative is about those angels. The king of Syria was warring against Israel and became frustrated because the king of Israel always knew where this enemy army was camped. Finally Syria’s leader discovered that Elisha the prophet was telling Israel’s king “the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

This king decided to seize Elisha and sent a great army to surround the city where the prophet was staying. When Elisha’s servant rose early in the morning, he saw the army and was dismayed. However, the prophet said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.”

The Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When the Syrians came down, Elisha prayed again, “Please strike this people with blindness.” God did what the prophet asked. Then Elisha took those enemy soldiers to Israel’s king who, at the prophet’s advice, fed them and sent them home. The Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:8–23)

As with Elisha, God promises to never forsake me also. I cannot see the angels, but I do trust Him to keep His promises to me. However, I am reminded with today’s NT reading that God did forsake one of His own, His only begotten Son. 

“It was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’” Everyone mocked Him, even those crucified with Him.

“When the sixth hour came, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ . . . And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” (Mark 15:25–37)

Most say that at that moment when Jesus bore all the sin of all the people for all time, God the Father could not look at that sin. Others say that the Father did not forsake the Son, only that it felt like He did. Neither explanation seems right.

Then, as I read this, I tried to imagine what it would be like to not have the presence of the Lord in my life. Thinking back, I knew. Before Christ opened my eyes and came into my heart, I was separated from God and spiritually dead, without any sense of His presence.

This makes me wonder about the Father forsaking the Son. Could it be that unless God forsook Jesus, He would not have died? Or maybe He would not be able to die. And if He didn’t die, then He could not bear the penalty of my sin, which is death, separation from God forever.

But Jesus did die. Was it because the Father forsook Him? Is it because God departed from Jesus that I have life, and that I have His presence with me all the time? Was this the reason that now I have the power and protection of legions of angels. Oh the cost, oh the cost!

God’s Presence

Numbers 8–9

John 16:5–33

Psalm 9:8–20

When do I most need to know the presence of God? When do I want to get inside His mind and figure out what He is thinking? Usually, when my world caves in . . . or it is foggy out there and I’m not sure what to do . . .  or when I know what to do, but not when to start (or stop). Wouldn’t it be nice to have some traffic lights for times like those? Moses and crew did . . .

“So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.” (Numbers 9:16–23)

I’m always humbled by their trust. The cloud stayed put; they stayed put. The cloud moved; they moved. They didn’t seem to question it, whether the duration was only a night or if it was a month or longer. Maybe that is why God doesn’t give us the same guidance today. Would we be as obedient?

But Jesus did know that life would not be easy for His followers. Christians are persecuted. Some suffer in unimaginable ways. We get sick. We suffer loss. But even the ‘normal’ events of life can be upsetting. For this He told His disciples, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:31–33)

This world is filled with trauma, trials, and challenges, but Jesus is still in charge. He faced all I will ever face and worse, yet maintained total strength, amazing grace, and perfect trust in His Father because He knew He would do what is right. I can take heart for Jesus has overcome everything that was done to Him. He is with me and will grant me the same grace.

It is as the psalmist wrote: “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10)

In day-to-day life, or in those days when things cave in, or I cave in, or am in a fog, or uncertain, I don’t have a cloud, but I know He is with me. His presence and that gentle voice of reassurance tells me that He is still here and I am safe with Him. How wonderful!