Are You There?

Are You There?

In the depths of misery, in the heat of the battle, when you feel completely alone, when everything appears to be going wrong, when the pain and emptiness of loss have engulfed you, when the shame and regret of failure seem to define you, when the darkness of this world has engulfed you, when you don’t know what to do; nothing, absolutely nothing compares to the peace, comfort and hope found in the presence of the Lord. His consolation, His guidance, even His correction brings warmth and light to the cold dark depths of despair. To sense the presence, power and protection of God brings unsurpassed joy, reassurance and motivation.

God Comforts Us

• Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

God Lifts Our Heads

• Psalm 3:3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

But when it feels like He is distant or disinterested, we can be overwhelmed with distress, doubt and discouragement.

• Psalm 44:23-26 Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. 24 Why do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground. 26 Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.

But no matter how we feel, the Bible clearly teaches us the truth – our God is always with us.

Omniscience – An Attribute of God

God is all places at all the times – The power, truth and light of The Sovereign Lord inhabit all of creation.

• Psalm 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Indwelling Presence of God’s Holy Spirit – A Gift and Pledge from God

God’s Spirit lives forever in those who have trusted Him for eternal life through faith in Christ.

• Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
• Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

As with every area of our walk of faith, and with many areas of our life, we must look beyond our feelings. As wonderful as feeling safe, positive, happy, relaxed, rested, etc. can be, and as awful as scared, sad, worried, stressed, exhausted, etc. feelings can be, we have to be careful about using our feelings as the sole indicator of our situation or status. What we know from the Bible and our experiences with God and Godly people must be used to clarify and guide us as we navigate the treacherous paths of the crazy sinful world we live in.

Whether we feel it or not – our God is always with us!

• Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

God is our Shelter and our Savior. He longs for us to rest in His presence, power and protection.

Psalm 46:10-11

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

So, what do I do when my feelings deceive me?

I talk to You.

I trust in You.

I diligently seek You.

I patiently wait for You.

I stand in the truth that is You.

Are You always there?

My soul knows it! 

Creation declares it!

Your Word proclaims it!

My life is a testimony of it!

Your Spirit bears witness to it!

Our God is always with us!

Prayer

Ever present faithful Father, forgive me when I rely too heavily on my feelings. Truth supersedes feelings. Your truth surpasses human wisdom, worries and wishes. I pray Holy Father, that You will help Your children trust in the truth of Your Word, rely on the guidance of Your Spirit, and lean on the collective strength of Your Church (which is only found in Christ Jesus). You do comfort us. You do lift our heads. Your love and timing are perfect! Please help us to see beyond this broken world to your faithfulness. I pray in the name of Christ my Savior. Amen.

Pure and Complete

Pure and Complete

There are many sources of information: internet, television, radio, books, newspapers, billboards, magazines, mail, flyers, people, …, or even face-to-face conversation. As for me, I just want the truth. I am not very interested in opinions or protracted commentary. When I am contemplating, planning, deciding or just forming an opinion, I want the information I consume to be unpolluted and comprehensive. But the fact of the matter is, you can often find multiple sources of information that present conflicting information. So much of the information available to us today deviates from reality/facts. This can be caused by ignorance (oblivious to the truth/facts), agendas (driven by personal objectives), naivety (trusting unreliable sources), delusion (influenced by mental/emotional health, drugs, false teachings/beliefs), or anything else the degrades or diminishes the truth.

Thankfully there is one source we can always turn to for pure and complete information.

Proverbs Chapter 30

Verse 5 Every word of God is pure;

He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Verse 6 Do not add to His words,

Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Verse 5 tells us that God’s Word is Pure.

The Word of God is absolute truth. It is not contaminated by error or deception.

• Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
• The power of this purity is protection from false teachings about God. The Bible teaches us clearly and correctly about God and how to be in a reconciled relationship with Him.
• Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.
• Regardless of what Satan, this fallen world and our sinful flesh attack us with, when we trust in Him based on the truth of His Word, He is all the protection we need.

Verse 6 tells us that God’s Word is Complete.

The Word of God is all He intended it to be. Adding to it would defile it, taking from it would diminish it.

• Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
• The consequence of this completeness is confidence in a reliable standard. We can’t ignore the parts of the Bible we don’t like or don’t completely understand. Nor can we add to it to accomplish our purposes.
• Genesis 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
• Satan deceived Eve by directly contradicting the Word of God. We face the rebuke of God when we distort, delete or add to the teachings of the Bible.

To ensure we are embracing, living and sharing God given truth, it is always best to take the time to verify that what others are teaching us agrees with what the Bible teaches.

• Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Prayer

Thank You Father for the purity and completeness of Your Word. Thank you for continuing to increase access to the Bible around the world. Your Word is the Way. Your Word is Truth. Your Word is Life. Please use Your Word to bring many to salvation in Jesus Christ and to help all who follow Him to grow in faith, hope and love. I pray these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.