God is Always Present!

October 11, 2010

I have a shadow that follows me around the house. No matter where I go, my shadow follows. If I am cooking in the kitchen, I find my shadow close by. If I am doing laundry, my shadow is right there among the clothes. As I type these words, my shadow is not far from me.

I am not talking about my actual shadow created by the light. I am talking about our puppy golden retriever, Sophie. She follows me everywhere! She has become my constant companion. And what a joy it is to have a constant companion. Turns out, she is the best listener I have ever known!

We all want to be heard. We all want to be known. We all want companionship. It is how we are created. And because of that longing created deep within us, we search for that companionship everywhere. Even in our own dog. Yet, the companionship, we are looking for is found in the only piece that fits in our companionship hole. And that is the companionship of God, our Creator.

So far our journey through the Psalms has defined God in so many different ways. I am only continuing to broaden my view of who God is. Today, I am expanding on something I have always known to be true of God. God is always present! I have known that ever since I was young. God has no beginning or end. He is!

But, now I am taking that one step further today. Who is the only person who has been with you since birth? Who has seen you laugh and cry every time? Who has been with you as you moved from one place to the other and been a part of every step? Who has watched you grow throughout the years never taking His eyes off of you? Who has witnessed your lowest lows and your highest highs, and everything in between? God!

Reading through Psalm 22, David is crying out to God for help in the midst of trouble. Every where around him are people who are mocking him for what he believes. They are tempting him to renounce his faith. They are his enemies. He is desperate for someone on his side. And then he remembers…

God is Always Present!

Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.

In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.

They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

"He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.

From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.

I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.

You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,

for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it. (NIV)

David’s words reminded me that God is always present! He has been with me every step of the way. He even formed me in my mother’s womb! “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.”

From the beginning of my life, God has been with me. He has never left me, just like my shadow! He is my constant companion! He fills that piece that is missing in my heart! No one else will ever be able to fill it as completely and fully as God does.

So, whenever I am lonely, whenever I am in trouble, whenever I am worried, whenever I want someone to listen, whenever I am afraid, whenever I want to burst with joy, anytime I have a whenever moment, God is Always Present! He is my companion!