He is present
Scripture: Psalm 46:1
Just as we saw in our devotion yesterday that God is faithful, He is also present. As a child and a teenager, my dad was not always present, or there, when I needed him. Some of the hardest, loneliest, and even most triumphant moments were spent without him to guide me, accompany me, or celebrate with me. In Scripture we are reminded through Jesus we become the sons and daughters of God and His Spirit has been sent in to our hearts crying out Abba, which means Father (Galatians 4:6). Even as our earthly mothers or fathers may abandon us, God in His unending faithfulness has promised He never will (Deuteronomy 31:6).
We are reminded in Scripture: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1 ESV) God, unlike our friends and family, will not fail us. God will not leave us, He will not forsake us, He will not abandon us, He will not reject us, He can be trusted because He is faithful and true. We can struggle with God’s presence and He can seem far away or even removed from our circumstances but the question must be, if God feels far away, who has changed? Time and time again I find it is not the Creator of the Universe who loved me so much He gave His only Son to die the death I deserved, but me that has changed.
Today I wonder, is God present in your life? What moments can you see His hand at work in your life? What situations do you feel God giving you strength in? What moments have you hidden in His refuge? Does God feel far away? Has He changed or have you? The wonderful thing about being redeemed and in Christ is the inseparable love God has for us. May the words of Paul comfort us:
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39 ESV)
