Friends often remind me, “You’re not alone.” “God is with you,” they say. “Yes,” I answer. “He is.” Yet there are times—mostly when I’m pressed to accomplish a daunting task without anyone physically present to help me, or when I’m alone for extended periods of time—that I wonder, “Is God here with me?” And, if so, “What does His presence truly mean?”
How do we know that, “God is with you,” isn’t a manmade statement conjured up to make people feel better? Is it a motivational quote to spur people on when they’re struggling? A way to politely say, “God is with you, so you don’t need my help”?
We know God is with us, because Scripture promises He’s there. “The Lord your God is living among you,” we read in Zephaniah 3:17. “He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
We don’t need to linger in discouragement or doubt, for God says, “I am with you.” He told His people, “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” (Isaiah 41:10).
In Isaiah 43:1-3, and throughout Scripture, God offers us truth that can change our lives and give us hope when we truly embrace it. He promises us that when we’re redeemed we’re also summoned by name; we are His. Compassionately, He says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. . . . I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:2-3).
May we cling to this infinite, unwavering truth: God goes before us and He is with us. Just as He promised Zephaniah, He’s a loving God who “will live among [us]!” (Zephaniah 3:15).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Genesis 45:1-28
More:
Read Deuteronomy 31:6 and consider what God reveals about an antidote for our fear and panic.
Next:
What can cause you to doubt God’s presence? How does it encourage you to know that God goes before you and is with you?
Gary Shultz on January 29, 2017 at 6:24 am
Hi Roxanne: I just don’t know how to turn this stone over, how is the presence of God explained? I do believe the promises, I do believe God is willing and capable of doing, with unfailing precision, those promises for us. But how can I explain God’s presence? Oh yes, I can say God is with us, or sometimes better stated I am with God. Maybe it shouldn’t, but to me it defies explanation as God’s Spirit over shadows and ministers to our spirit in a way that is sensed in the soul and links to the mind. There is no other feeling on earth like it; to be in God’s presence. I don’t think we do the life as believer based on feeling or emotion; however, based on the the truths we know and a life in step with obedience we do get to experience an unexplainable; to walk with God. I don’t usually doubt God doing His part, but I do know my tendency to pull away from God. In not being able to fully explain God’s presence does not mean it’s like magic or some kind of peculiar event, it is offered to all who believe in obedience. The great thing about the whole deal also is we can ask God for that closeness, He has been knocking. Thanks Roxanne
jjw2855 on January 29, 2017 at 8:00 am
Sometimes, when I have prayed about a difficult situation and not received any answer from God for a while, then I feel I am struggling on my own, and the doubt creeps in about Gods presence. It is in times like that I have learned to remind myself about Jesus’s promise to His disciples in Matthew 28:20b “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” I have learned to claim that promise for myself. I know that my Saviour is with me always, and this gives me peace of mind. Thank you Jesus for your presence is with us in your Holy Spirit, to help us and guide us each day. Thanks Roxanne for today’s devotion.
don777 on January 29, 2017 at 9:02 am
I would think that the feeling, Where is God? Is probably one of the hardest things for believers. It seems that this is where the rubber meets the road. Thank you Jesus for your word. Knowing the word and believing it no matter how I feel. The truth never changes no matter what; feelings or circumstances. The book of Job is a good book to give us a perspective/understanding of us and GOD. And scripture/prayer. Some verses that I hold on to that helps me is Mark 9:24 …I believe but help my unbelief. 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is GOD breathed. John 14:20 (Jesus said) I am in the Father, and you are in ME, and I in you 🙂 Romans 8:31 If GOD is for us, Who can be against us. So many more I have them written down to help when I am feeling this way. These are the times when our faith grows. 1 Peter 1:6-7 Romans 8:28, Romans 10:17, Romans 4:8, Isaiah 8-9, Phil 4:6-7 I need a Savior every day, all day
envirotact on January 29, 2017 at 9:35 am
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had terrible morning sickness all day – not just the mornings. I found myself in bed watching (ugh) daytime television – The Price is Right – to be exact. I wondered, “is God with me, even in this?” Bob Barker calls out to this guy in his audience who was wearing a John 3:16 shirt and asks him – on national television – “what is John 3:16”? The guy told them all and Bob said “that’s wonderful” or something like that, but I was crying – knowing it was the Lord letting me know that, YES HE IS with me – even in this.