A Thought

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”  Psalm 139:7-10

The psalmist expresses an assurance we often take for granted: no matter where we turn, the Lord is present.  There is nothing under the sun that gets by the Lord, and there is nothing to be done in darkness that the Lord cannot and will not shed light upon.  This is an important assurance especially during those times of distress and anxiety when we often feel nothing and sense nothing; when we think we are alone, abandoned, forsaken.

But we must also understand that when we slander our neighbor, the Lord is present.  When we withhold our gifts from the Lord’s Church, the Lord is there.  When we deny a hungry child food, the Lord is there.  Yet when we give our last dollar so the hungry child can eat, the Lord is there.  When we speak in favor of righteousness in the face of slander, the Lord is there.  When we offer our gifts to the Lord’s Church in spite of our fear about what may come “tomorrow”, the Lord is there – and will be “tomorrow” also.

It does not take courage to be selfish, and there is no integrity in living only for self.  It takes courage and confidence in the assurances of the Lord to live by faith, and it inspires integrity to live according to the Lord’s standard rather than our own.  May we learn to live according to all that has been given us so we may find courage, integrity, and faith.  Only then may we discover the Love that is present with us always.

Blessings,

Michael