I AM HERE - 2 OF 7
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““This is the SECOND of a seven part devotional series entitled: I AM HERE. The title is an acrostic. Today the letter “A” ABIDING PRESENCE. In these incredibly tumultuous times in which we are living, it is good to remind ourselves of these timely and timeless words of our Lord Jesus, Matt 28:20 ..and lo, I AM with you always, [even] to the end of the age. Amen.” It is my earnest and heartfelt prayer that this little series will comfort, strengthen and encourage every reader!””
Psa 139:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You [are] there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You [are there]. 9 [If] I take the wings of the morning, [And] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
David said, “If I make my bed in hell… Wait! What?? I am confident that Hell is the one place that God is not! Studying it carefully, one of the things that makes Hell so hellacious is the absence of the presence of the Lord! (2Th 1:9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.) In other words these will be banished from the presence of the Lord! I believe that he is saying, “Even if I go through a period that I am living like hell and deserve to be sentenced to Hell, the Lord will not abandon me, even in that backslidden place I have chosen!” He is married to the backslider! (See Jer. 3:14)
From my own experience of seven years extreme backsliding, there were times where the presence of God would overwhelm me and all I could do was weep! Because I was so far from God, I truly believed I had passed the point of no return! I believed that I had exceeded the limits of His mercy and grace! The greatest shock of my life, was the morning forty-one years ago, that Jesus came to me to bring me back to Himself! I was getting high with a friend and not kneeling at a church altar! Though I had abandoned Him, He had never abandoned me, not even for a moment!
Friend, Jesus will stick by you through thick and thin. He is a friend that loves at ALL times! (Prov. 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.) He was born because of our trouble, and that trouble was that sin had separated us all from God! Perhaps you are not walking as close to God as you should. He has no intention of leaving you there. No! He has stuck by you because you would never find your way back if He ever left you! Even if you are walking through hell, His presence is abiding there with you, to walk you out!
Every blessing!
—Tom