The God of Presence
Do you believe that God is with you? Always?
Verse of the Day
God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
Exodus 3:12
Today’s Devotional
One of the names of God in Scripture in “Immanuel” which means “God is with us”. God has been telling us since the very beginning that He is with us. Do we actually believe Him?
If we believe the Bible to be God’s Word, then let’s look at what God says about His presence with His people.
And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (God talking to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:8)
The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” (God talking to Gideon in Judges 6:16)
No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. (God talking to Joshua in Joshua 1:5)
The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” (God to Moses in Exodus 33:14)
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” (God talking to Jacob in Genesis 31:3)
Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. (God talking to Isaac Genesis 26:3, and then in verse 24)
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. (God to the people of Israel in Isaiah 43:2, and in 41:10) Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. (John 14:23)
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Jesus in Matthew 28:20)
We might be tempted to read the verse from the Old Testament and think that those truths do not apply to us today. But the last 2 verses come from the mouth of Jesus. We don’t have to understand this to believe it.
God is with you right now. If we believe that, what do we possibly have to be afraid of or worry about? The fact that God is with you may not SEEM true, but according to God, it IS true.
Since God is present with each of us, why do we still have problems, or pain, or struggles of any kind? Shouldn’t God’s presence make everything right? Sadly, that kind of thinking can get me stuck in a pit of doubt and fear. In the same Bible that promises God’s presence, we are told repeatedly that we will have troubles. But in the midst of those troubles, God’s presence is our sustaining force. Our faith in God and our declaration of His presence may be exactly what we need to change our perspective.
God is with you.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you struggle with believing that God is with you?
Write about a time when God’s presence was very real to you.
Write a prayer asking God to make Himself known to you in some way today.
How does God’s promise of His presence lead you to awe and worship?