Week 11: God is With Us

God is With Us

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

As I spent quiet time with God and read the account of Jesus appearing to Mary and Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, it was initially easy for me to criticize their inability to recognize Jesus, who walked and talked with them as they headed back to Jerusalem (John 20:14-16). As soon as I judged them, the Holy Spirit reminded me to reflect on my own life a few months earlier. During that time, I was lying on my couch day after day, overwhelmed with tears and inconsolable grief over the death of my mother. I would go to sleep crying, wake up crying, cry most of the day, sob while driving, while in church, while eating, and I would choke back tears when talking to family and friends. Where was God? I couldn’t see or feel His presence because I wasn’t seeking Him. Despair had become my closest friend and was almost suffocating me. It was so close and so woven into every thought, action, and emotion that I lacked the clarity of mind and spirit to see God amid my pain.

While studying scripture, I was reminded of biblical stories where people were so overwhelmed by circumstances and emotions that they failed to recognize God’s presence, comfort, and power. These accounts remind me that they were no different from believers in Scripture, and that we serve the same mighty God, who can see us through every trial and obstacle if we push past our circumstances to seek God and access His power in our lives.  

Isaiah 43:1-2 states, “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 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’s words of comfort in this scripture let us know that, without keeping our focus on God, His power, authority, and omniscience in our lives, we are naturally prone in times of life’s challenges and adversity to experience fear, (so God says, “Do not be afraid”), loneliness and abandonment, (so God says, “I will be with you”), and feeling overwhelmed, (so God says, “You will not drown”). Praise God. Thirteen years later, I can look back and see God’s presence with me during that time, strengthening and guiding me through my journey of grief.

Friend, when life’s challenges make it hard to see or feel God’s presence, remember that He is with you, He sees you, and He loves you. He will never abandon you or turn away from you (Hebrews 13:5).