211. With Us and never Leave
1 Kings 8:57 The Lord our God be wlth us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us.
A common promise of God in the Scriptures is that God will be with us. He was with us in the past, will be with us always, and He is present now, today, where we are, and in the circumstances we are in. He is with us to guide and lead and shepherd, He is with us as friend and companion. He is with us in the spiritual battles. He is with us to hear our prayers and answer them. He is with us for good: to bless, heal, forgive, comfort, encourage, lift up, give peace, give grace to help in time of need, give hope when lost, to gather when we feel scattered, etc., etc.
God being “with us always” goes along with His promise to be “present,” that is, He is always available to us to allow us into His Presence. This is a big deal. It is a blessing and a promise that we too often forget to take advantage of. When we feel good and things are well with us, we forget that God is with us, for we don’t need Him right then. Then it is time to thank and praise Him for the “good day.” When we are not feeling well for whatever reason and things are not going so well, we still forget to turn to the Lord for help. Maybe we wait until all our own resources are dried up and we turn to the Lord as a last resort. The Lord can only say, “But I have always been there.”
If God is with us as He promises, then we may enter into His Presence any time and any place. The Lord is “a very present help in time of trouble.” And He is very present when there is no trouble. We enter into His Presence with repentance and faith. We activate our awareness of His “with us” promise by praising and thanking God in everything and for everything. God is always good, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Ever. We can count on Him to “be there” for us.