There’s never a place we can go where His presence won’t be there first. He’s in our yesterday, He’s in our today, and He’s in our tomorrow all at the same time. He rejoices over us, rewards us, blesses us, and smothers us with His forgiveness and grace every day, throughout the day. In addition to the good, there is no tragedy we’ll face, no hardship we’ll endure, and no adversity we’ll encounter where God is not with us, steadily holding us up with His mighty, righteous, and perfect right hand.
When you feel lonely and wonder where God is, know that He is about you, above you, after you, amidst you, around you, among you, before you, behind you, beneath you, beside you, beyond you, by you, for you, inside you, near you, and over you. He is everywhere, all the time. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you experience fear and wonder why God won’t remove it from you, know that He hasn’t given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. That nothing can separate us from His love and presence. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you’re sick and don’t understand why God won’t heal you, know that He is still the Great Physician and Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals. The time frame you have in mind may not match His, but rest assured, He is doing a work in you and through you. Always and forever, He is near us.
There is nothing that we’ll encounter that God has not already defeated. And not just defeated, but totally annihilated on our behalf when He put Jesus on the cross to cover our past, present, and future sins. Always and forever, He is near us.
When you go through devastating situations, He is with you.
When your life seems to be spinning out of control, He is with you.
When you can’t see the path or even the next step, He is with you.There are options everywhere that beg us to place our trust, hope, and joy in them. Those temporary joys and pleasures hold no comparison to the eternal, never-ending presence of our Almighty God who calls us His children. His presence is the prize. It’s what we get for all eternity.
Category: Life
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He is near us
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Jesus and The Old Testament
From today’s devotion, the prophesy of Jesus in the old testament.
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God over the seemingly impossible
It might feel unlikely that God will show up in your impossible situation: your diagnosis, your infertility, your broken relationship, your disobedient kid, your inconsistent character, your anxiety, your financial struggles, your grief.
Thankfully, God is not limited or bound by the natural world.
Growing up in a Jewish family, Mary would have known about the prophesied Messiah; the long-awaited Savior of the world. But she probably never imagined that those age-old predictions would be fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of her son—who was somehow fully God, yet also fully man.
But as the angel Gabriel explained to Mary:
“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37 ESVNot only did God plan these events long ago, He also declared them ahead of time through Old Testament prophets and writers.
Jesus’ life: This God-man would come from the lineage of David (Isaiah 9:7), and be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). He’d make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the mute sing (Isaiah 35:5-6). He’d proclaim good news to the poor, comfort the brokenhearted, and set the captive free (Isaiah 61:1).
Jesus’ death: Though innocent (Isaiah 53:9), he’d be betrayed by a close friend (Psalm 41:9) for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12). He’d be despised and rejected (Isaiah 53:3), beaten and spit on (Isaiah 50:6), pierced in both the hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), and ultimately killed (Daniel 9:26).
Jesus’ resurrection: He would be raised to life again (Psalm 16:10-11) and establish a never-ending covenant with God’s people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Because He’d be willing to bear the sins of many and intercede for rebels (Isaiah 53:12), many would be counted as righteous (Isaiah 53:11) and He’d be a light to all nations (Isaiah 11:10).
Everything about Jesus seemed impossible, but God is able to do beyond what we could imagine. So remember the God you serve, and be encouraged: God is surprised by nothing. He already knows the end from the beginning. His purposes can’t be derailed. His character will never change.
Nothing is impossible for Him.
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It Happened
My room is quite a nice room. Just me, lots of space and a washroom. Because it’s reverse isolation there are a pair of doors and a small hallway to get in. Sort of like an air lock. But, there are no locks on the doors or curtains on the windows in the doors or any signage as to what may be going on in the room. Doctors knock, everyone else just flies in and out.
While this is sort of a part of The Journey I’m posting over here because I didn’t want this flying out to all the subscribers. If they see it here well, no problem, but I’m not advertising.
Part of my care in hospital is wound care for the PITA (perianal abscess & fistulas) plus an infection that popped up in the area as well ?. Wound care involves soaking the area twice a day in an 25% acidic (vinegar) solution. Surprisingly, this doesn’t hurt. Anyway, to do this I’m quite exposed with my rear end pointing towards the ceiling.
As the nurse is performing the procedure and orderly wings in to pick up my lunch tray. It happened.
Out and about
I’m typing this post from the hospital lobby after picking up some lifesavers in the convenience store. Then there was a walk around the front circle drive and I’m sitting in a chair and feeling pretty comfortable.
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Kayak is a Palindrome
Just a random fact because we gave Dane a kayak for his upcoming birthday to maximize the in-water time this summer.
Paddle Boy When there are brothers you pretty much need two of these.
Peas in a Pod? Two in a Kayak? Summer Fun! -
Cookie Love
The gift of love – home made custom shortbread cookies My sister Gail flew in from North Saanich on Vancouver Island for a visit. It’s the first time we’ve seen each other in more than two year thanks to Covid and various health concern as on both ends. The primary trigger for the visit was a sudden change in The journey resulting in my hospitalization with some pretty serious issues.
Not only did she come for a wonderful visit with lots of deep and meaningful conversations but was bearing the above heart shaped shortbread cookies which are extremely delicious.
I love my sister and she loves me. ❤️
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Difficult Challenges
God will fill us with His love and hope and with His Spirit. Our Almighty God uses difficult times. He leads us to Jesus and conforms us to be greater than any challenge.
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:3-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.5.3-5.NLT
