The Promise of Presence

The Promise of Presence (Psalm 125:1&2)

My wife, Bobbie, and I are on vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The place where we're staying is on top of a mountain and has a balcony that looks across a cove to another row of mountains. I just watched the sun set behind the mountains; it was spectacular!

The whole scene reminds me of a few lines of the Psalms that I often use when I make hospital calls. I can still remember the evening (almost 40 years ago) when these lines became real in my life. I hope they become real to you, if they're not already. Listen to the psalmist: "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever."

What is life like for you these days? Is it good? The Lord surrounds you like the mountains surround Jerusalem! Has life thrown you some curves? The Lord surrounds you like the mountains surround Jerusalem! Do you struggle in your walk with Jesus? The Lord surrounds you like the mountains surround Jerusalem!

Each one of us who knows the reality of life in Christ shares this assurance. As surely as Mount Zion cannot be moved, not one of us can escape the ongoing presence of the Lord in our lives. He surrounds us right now and forever! I know it's not always easy to keep that reality front and center in our lives. It has never been easy. An old monk who lived hundreds of years ago wanted to live in constant awareness of Jesus' presence. He determined to "Practice the Presence of the Lord" in everything he did. A little book grew out of that exercise, and people who want to know that the Lord "surrounds His people from this time forth and forever" have read it and learned from it.

Others who want live in "this time forth and forever" mode have used what Christians for centuries have called "The Prayer of the Heart." I ran across it several months ago in a book I was reading, and I think I've shared it in previous Freedom Fighter contributions. It goes like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It is a short prayer that men like you and me can pray anywhere at any time. A simple little prayer can help us remember that the "Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever."

Join me this week, wherever you are, in living in the surrounding presence of the Lord. -- Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs1-2; Proverbs 7; 1 Corinthians 16

Great Quote: Faith is realizing that I am useful to God not in spite of my scars but because of them. Pamela Reeve