His Presence

He is with us.

He is with us.

He is with us.

anytime something is repeated in the Word three times, it's very important, i thot i'd try that here! :)

the Word is very clear that we will suffer, we will go through the valley of the shadow of death (isn't that one of the first scriptures you learned, psalm 23?). we will go through the waters tho they will not overflow. we will go through the fires tho we will not be scorched. we will go through many trials and tribulations until His glorious return.  didn't our Lord do the same while on earth and is He not acquainted with our suffering having suffered to the point of death on a cross after being accused and abused? 

our family has been thru some intense suffering in the last coupla years so i'm not approaching this subject from an academic angle alone. and i know too many ones near and dear going through things right now. two have family members in psychiatric settings. one is about to enter a treatment facility for alcohol addiction this wednesday.  a close friend has just lost a day of work, her hours cut back from 5 to 4 days per week and she can't pay her bills on that. another family is struggling to stay out of foreclosure and now know where the local food banks are. i'm sure you could tell stories like this from your own life or others'. 

but the Word also says He is present with us. (psalm 23 is all about the shepherd tending to us, being present with us, His sheep.) i don't know but if i did a comparison of how many times in the bible's 66 books it says we'll suffer and how many times it says He is present with us, i wonder which number would come out on top?

psalm 46 assures us of this very truth. verse 1 says He is a very present help in times of trouble. verse 5:  God is in the midst of us!  verse 7: the LORD of hosts is with us and that is repeated in verse 11: the LORD of hosts is with us!! 

psalm 139: there is no where we can flee from His presence! and back in psalm 16:11 the psalmist proclaims there is fullness of joy to be found in His presence!

there's a story in the book of daniel chapter 3 that i've never forgotten from the very first time i heard it.  shadrach, meshach and abednego are ordered by the king to be bound together and thrown into a blazing furnace where the pre-incarnate Christ is seen in the furnace with them!!! in verse 25 the king was amazed:  look! i see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!

i could go on and on but i'll just leave you with just one more scripture. isaiah 41:10: do not fear for I am with you. do not anxiously look about you for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

i can attest to this - His Word - being the truest truth! throughout our difficulties in the last few years, we've always known His presence with us. no matter how dark the times have been, we've always known He was near and hadn't left us alone.  there was always evidence of His presence. and the friends mentioned above? they have testified to this as well, that in the midst of their suffering, they, too, have known God is with them and it has brought them comfort, peace and even joy.

He is with us! amen.