VERY PRESENT

I have found so many benefits in our advancing technology. We have a plethora of information at our fingertips. We can shop from home and share news with the world in an instant. Yet, when I need help with a product or service or have a question, I revert to my old-school ways and want to speak with a live person who is present in mind and body on the other end of the line. I find it frustrating to have to send an email or type out a long, drawn-out story in a chat box, only to have a computer generate a response with nothing that relates to the problem I expressed.

This past week, my scripture passage to memorize was Psalm 46:1-3. As I pondered these verses and said them aloud, I kept pausing on two particular words, highlighting, circling, and underlining them in my mind. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (KJV). When I need help… when you need help…, where is God? He is “VERY PRESENT.” He is here. He is available. We don’t have to hold on the line in some endless queue to talk to Him or stare out the window waiting for Him to arrive. He is “VERY PRESENT.”

We do not serve a distant God. God makes this clear in His question to Judah in Jeremiah 23:22 when He asks, “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?” (KJV).

May we always remember and find comfort, strength, and shelter in knowing our God is very present, and may we never turn away but embrace His presence and be filled with His Spirit.