As I see it from my front porch swing: Blog Post 3

Hi Presence

 

I was thinking the other day about my grandparents who lived in Powhatan. And I was thinking about their house and I started to recall every little detail I could about it. One of the things I thought about was how I felt every time I was there. I took myself back in time to that house and instantly I had an overpowering feeling of being loved and being safe. The best way I can describe it is…I felt covered! Just being in my grandparent’s house it was like I was in their presence again and it gave me such a feeling of comfort.

All of this reminiscing reminded me of how I feel as a Follower of Jesus. Isaiah 41:10 says it so well:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

If you saw my last blog, it was about the promises of God. The above verse is a beautiful picture of one of those promises. But it is more than that.

Do you realize when God says, “Do not be afraid”, it is not a suggestion or advice or even a request? It is actually a command!

He tells us what not to do – don’t fear or be dismayed.  Then He tells us why – because He is with us and because He is our God.  And then He tells us three things He will do – strengthen, help, and uphold us. 

What all this means is God promises us His presence. The problem for most of us is that we are not aware of His presence. We stumble through life oblivious to the fact He is with us and will never leave those who belong to Him.  

I am reminded of the story of a Preacher who asked a boy about the presence of God. The Preacher said to him, "Son, I will give you an apple if you can tell me where God is."

The boy looked at the Preacher, then he looked at the apple, then he said, "Preacher, I will give you a barrel of apples if you can tell me where He isn’t."

Amen? Amen!  God will never “unfriend” us when we do something stupid or when we sin or when we’re stressed out but instead He promises to help us.

Therefore…

I will not live in fear because He is here! 

I will not be discouraged because He is my God! 

I will lean on God to strengthen me!

I will trust God to help me!

The presence of God is a fact of life. Paul got it right when he said of God, "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."

Yes, when at my grandparent’s house, there was a wonderful sense of peace, safety and the fact they would protect me.

We should feel the same as one who has accepted Jesus as their Savior.

God is with us, He will strengthen us, He will help and uphold us!