A few nights ago my devotional began with, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
I Am Promised the Lord is in This Place, Too
I close out each day reading from a little book of Scripture, each page gathered beneath a theme, a thought … a concept of God. The leather cover of Daily Light is growing soft and worn from use, its pages beginning to take on the fragrance of my hand lotion applied every night as I settle into bed.
Verses of life followed the first: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).
“‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the Lord, ‘and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?'” (Jeremiah 23:23-24).
God can be with us and we may not even know it.
He is omnipresent — He is present everywhere at one time.
He is present in all circumstances.
He is with us every moment of every day … through the good and bad, the joy and sorrow, the peace and chaos.
He is there.
I want to be aware of His presence so I can recognize Him. When the Lord is “in this place” — when He is with me — I want to open the eyes of my heart to see Him.
I try so hard to comprehend the magnificence of God, but I find it impossible.
His love! Oh my goodness — the depths of which we cannot understand.
I feel like a tiny bird trying to explain the expanse of the sky, or one raindrop trying to explain a torrential downpour.
Words cannot explain.
The Magnificent Love of God
And yet, I know it is real — this love that takes my breath away. This love that surrounds me with songs of deliverance and carries me through the difficult places … this love that pursues me.
My difficult place will never place me outside of God’s reach.
And neither will yours.
“Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord,”* for surely the Lord is in this place with us.
Selah
*Hosea 6:3
Oh that I would always know I am forever in the presence of the Lord. I love you Nan, thank you for your insight and inspiration.
To come to that realization is so amazing, isn’t it? What comfort I receive understanding that I am never alone in my difficult places. Thank you for stopping by.