As much as I love the fact that "God is for us", I am truly blessed to know also that "God is with us." This is amazing when you stop to think that the Creator of all things, the all-powerful God of the universe is with you, with me, right now. There are 72 promises in the Bible where God makes promises that He is with us (or with a certain individual). Among all of these, my personal favorite is the promise that He makes to Joshua in the first 6 verses of the book of Joshua. Check them out! A focus on the reality of the promise that God is with me will lead me to live very boldly and follow God's commands.
One of the other stories that I love about God's presence is the nation of Israel and their 40-year journey through the desert wilderness of Canaan. It is during this journey that we see God visibly leading His people by His presence in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. These pillars must have been an amazing comfort to the people in a difficult place. Oftentimes I have thought how nice that must have been to have a clear sign right in the sky indicating to me "head over this direction" or "you're going to camp here for the night." Not only was God's presence helpful in providing direction, God was comforting the people with His presence. How perfect was that? A pillar of cloud in the day! That must have been great; a little protection from the heat of the relentless desert sun. A pillar of fire at night! They didn't have a nightlight with them, but could still see, and even keep warm by the fire as the desert cooled off at night. God's presence is indeed very good!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. Isaiah 43:2
This is the most amazing and yet terrifying thing for me! I truely love that God is with us because that shows me he is not just God, but friend as well. The hard part is that I subject him to my sins and for that I feel horrible. I long for the day when I can be with him and not sin around him. It's going to be awesome to just walk with Jesus or be with God almighty just like adam and eve first did in the garden. That blows my mind to think about.
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