07/20/2023
Are we seeking God? Do we search day and night for Him? Praying? Reading scripture? Well stop for a moment and be still. You don't need to search for Him... He is all around you! When we realize this truth, then all that is left is to get to know Him. To understand and establish a relationship with the almighty, and His Son Jesus.
“"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 fortress. Selah”
Psalms 46:10-11 ESV
Knowing there is a God is natural to us; but knowing He is always present, even when we can't sense His presence, is not. Our earthly fathers are either here, or not, and we know this by seeing, hearing, and feeling, that they are present. When our father goes to work, we know he is absent, and when the door opens in the evening and we hear "I'm Home!" We know that he has returned. He can't be in two places at once, so we know he is either here... or not.
On the other hand, God is always with us, as a matter of fact He is both with us and elsewhere simultaneously. To give you an example... I am personally not with you as you are reading this devotional, but at this very moment God is with you, and He is also with me. As far as you and I are concerned, He is here, and away, at the same instant... God is omnipresent. The thought of this is so foreign to ourselves, but the fact that it is true means that we do not have to seek Him... just realize He is here. In the moment of that realization we can be still, and know that He is God.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Psalms 139:7-10 ESV
When I was a boy I would have nightmares. My mother bought a picture of a beautiful angel with a flowing white gown and majestic wings that was hovering over a boy and girl, and she hung this picture over my bed. It was hard for me to fathom that God was with me as I slept, but when the terror of a nightmare arose, I could look at that picture and know that angels were watching over me. It was a way of allowing me to know that God was with me without having to understand the concept of omnipresence; and my nightmares subsided. You say you don't believe in guardian angels? Well, listen as Jesus speaks...
“"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 18:10 ESV
Regardless of our understanding of guardian angels... God was with me, and it would be several years before I really understood the full impact of this. I used to hear people say that they sought God when they prayed, and I came to the conclusion that we had to call Him to us before we could have a conversation. In fact, we aren't calling God to us, but rather, we are opening ourselves up to the reality that He is there... and, whether we acknowledge Him or not, He has always been there.
Sinning, like prayer, is never something we do in secret from God. We might hide it from our family and neighbors, but never from God.
“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 23:24 ESV
In all truth, when we think we are sinning in secret, we are only hiding reality from ourselves. God sees our fine clothing, and He sees our nakedness; He sees us at our very best, and in the moment of our darkest hour... and yet He calls us to repentance with the promise of forgiveness. Now that is love! That is the beginning of a relationship in which there are no secrets, only trust.
So be still... be still and know that He is with you, and that there is nothing about you that He doesn't know. Be still and know that He loves you despite yourself, and is waiting for your contrition and for you to love Him back. Be still and know that He is with you in your prayer closet, at work, or in any of those moments when temptation seeks to master you. Be still and know that He sent His Son to redeem you, and be still and know that He is God.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for being with me always. I thank you for loving me when I am righteous, and I thank you for loving me even in those moments when my sin strips me naked of that righteousness before you. Holy Father, you are my constant companion, and you see all that I am; you know my heart, and you know me better than I know myself. Hear my pleas for mercy Lord, and hear my cry for forgiveness. Let me feel the strength in your arms as you lift me from my knees and place me on the road to holiness once more. Most Merciful God, I thank you for allowing me to understand that you are with me when I face temptation, and that if I merely still myself, we can pass through that moment together. Father, never let me feel that I can turn away from you, because in feeling this way I am placing myself before you in the lie of my own self-importance, and in my mind I am seeking to limit you to a place and time. You are with me, always and everywhere, and you know my thoughts and my heart always.
“And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:27 KJV
Rich Forbes