His Presence

Autumn Morning near Dryman-Stirling,Scotland

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

Sometimes life can be like walking about in a dense fog.Nothing is clear to us.We grope about blindly for answers.Sometimes we look in the wrong places for those answers to our questions.Very often that is when we feel the most alone.Often we feel abandoned by God.We wonder if He has left us.Or out of fear of condemnation we try to run and hide from Him.This is particularly common,I think,if you did not grow up in a loving and grace filled environment.But,we have His word,which tells us that no matter we are,He is there.When we run He is right there with us.When we hide,He seeks.His love,His presence,will not let us go,child of God.If we fly to the farthest reaches of the universe,He is there.If we swim to the deepest abyss in the deepest ocean,He is there.His presence,always present.Longing to gather us and hold us and love us as His children.He saw us when we were formed within that dark place of our mothers womb.He created every detail that makes us unique.Even in the darkest nights in our lives;when we are filled with sorrow,He is there.His presence,His Holy Spirit,never leaves us.He is as close as the very air that we breathe.Loving,guiding,and correcting when necessary.That amazes me.Causes me to stop.And think.And rejoice that though we may be forsaken by others,He never leaves us.Even when life is confusing.And it seems as if He is hidden by a thick,foreboding fog of circumstances,His presence,His spirit is there watching over us.What joy!What comfort!What a gift!

Bless you all-Sharon