When we dare to believe, He is right here. Stretch out the palm of your hand, and almost press it against your face – you won’t even be able to see the wrinkled, intersecting lines within your palms – only the faintness of the light between your fingers. He is here!! That close!! God! God of creation. Sustaining God. Wisdom of the ages. Loving, compassionate God – weaver of every happening into the masterpiece of His eternal plan........... Where is He in my grief? In my loneliness? In the oppressive, depressive messes of my emotions? Where is He when tragedy seems to triumph, when carefully planned details splinter, and my tomorrows lie like an unruly pile of dirty laundry? When I dare to believe, I will know the certainty – He is right here. He is as close as the palm of my hand almost suffocating my face – and really, even closer. He never leaves me, never abandons me, never withholds His grace, His enabling, His strength. He is right here.
I was preparing to speak to a group of moms about the fingerprints of God. And in the midst of rehearsing the appropriate words, my child’s life was distorted by the decisions of others – life impacting decisions that wreaked havoc with my child’s life, with mine, and with my husband’s. Where was God? God, I know all the words; I have a past that shouts Your presence. But, where are You now? And God whispered, “Bev, I have not changed. I am still your constant presence. I love you. I care. I long to walk with you and embrace you.”
A young girl, just learning to read, glowed when she told me, “I want to read the Bible.” And God whispered again, “Bev, go to Walmart and purchase a primary reader’s Bible for her.” But, God, she probably has a roomful! “Bev, go to Walmart.” And the whispers kept repeating themselves. And I listened to the God who is right here, and my little friend read it from cover to cover with her mom the first night she had it – and it was the very first Bible she will be able to read soon, all by herself.
There was the book money, a large amount of cash to suddenly need to replace, and there were the hours of searching in nondescript places, until I finally listened to the whispers of His presence. On another evening, my tears mixed with the waters of an evening shower, bathing my body while my heart cried out for answers – answers given by the God who is right here. I sat with a friend, rehearsing the tragedies of life both of us had experienced as young people, and I was reminded that even in those early years of brokenness, God was there. He was holding, shaping, giving a secure foundation that the world around us just doesn’t understand – and yet, we did.
When we dare to believe, He is right here. Even closer. I can know it, whether or not my feelings want to cooperate. But, He has promised, and I can trust His promise, and it is the promise I most cling to. He is here. Right here. Always and forever. I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. I am your helper. You need not fear. I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. Your strength comes from My grace.
– Bev
(Related Bible reading: Hebrews 13:5-9; Psalm 91:1-4)
