Even There

 "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into the heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:7-10

Our theme for our Bible Study this month was, "Never Alone."  The verses we read each and every day, reminded us that God is always with us; He will never leave us, nor will He forsake us.  I take comfort in His promise to always be near.

It seemed like our Pastor was preaching along the same theme these past few weeks.  I love that when that happens.  

Psalm 139 is a beautiful reminder of God's Omnipresence.  Here, David keeps imagining extreme places and situations to answer his hypothetical questions.

You know, sometimes fear and doubt will cause us to think that we are left alone, so we tend to pray, "Are you still there, God?"

And God answers, "Yes.  Even there."

I love those two words:  "Even there."

In verse 9, 'take the wings of the morning,' means 'to take flight.'  Another commentary expounded that if one would take flight as the speed of light.

Friend, we cannot outrun God.  We will never get to a place before God gets there.

He is already there.

And in comparison, to the skies, He knows that even in the utter-most, deepest, darkest parts of the sea, God is there.

Even there.

I love that!

I picture a little child in my mind, looking up into the face of their parent and asking the most serious question that is stemmed from the fear in their heart, and then the parent answering back with full assurance to give that child peace.  That is how those two words affected my heart.  I too, can look to my Heavenly Father and ask Him if he is here in the midst of my:

    battle with poor health-

    loneliness-

    heartache-

    doubts-

    fears-

You fill in the blank.  What are you struggling with today?  Ask God if He is there?

He will always answer, "Yes!  Even there!"

And not only will He be there with us, He is leading us in the way we should go and holding us with His right hand.

What a promise!

Thank you, God, for always going behind and before me...

    Thank You for leading and guiding me...

        For holding me with your right hand...

            And for always being, Even There!

                But that's just me!

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38-39

The Jesus Way

I love listening to Christian Radio. When I get into my car to drive the 30 miles to town, I turn the dial to my favorite station.  As I listen to the music, at times my heart is so full it wants to burst.  Other times, crocodile tears fill my eyes as I meditate on the verses that are being sung.  And then I sneak a peek at the person in the car next to me sitting at the red light and I just keep on singing with a smile on my face!

The other day I heard a song for the first time, and it pointed me to Matthew 5:44 45a, it says:

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:" words of Jesus.

It's not always easy is it?  Someone stabs you in the back, or speaks cruel words to your face, Often times you want to retaliate, maybe give what you get.  But that's not the Jesus way.

Lord, when someone hurts me...

    May the Holy Spirit lead me to respond...

        just like Jesus...

            But that's just me!

The Jesus Way

2003

Jonathan Smith/Phil Wickham

(Verses)

If you curse me, then I will bless you,

If you hurt me, I will forgive,

And if you hate me, then I will love you,

I choose the Jesus way.

If you're helpless, I will defend you,

And if you're burdened, I'll share the weight,

And if you're hopeless, then let me show you,

There's hope in the Jesus way.

If you strike me, I will embrace you,

And if you chain me, I'll sing His praise,

And if you kill me, my home is heaven,

For I choose the Jesus way.

(chorus)

I follow Jesus,

I follow Jesus,

He wore my sin, I'll gladly wear His Name,

He is the treasure, He is the answer,

Oh, I choose the Jesus way.

And I choose surrender,

I choose to love,

Oh, God my Saviour, You'll always be enough,

I choose forgiveness,

I choose grace,

I choose to worship, no matter what I face,

I choose the Jesus way.

Victory in the Battle

"Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you." 

Deuteronomy 3:22

Friend, are you in a battle right now?  Are you facing an enemy face to face, one on one, or have enemies completely surrounded you, coming at you from all sides?  Are you just now entering into your personal war, or have you been in the battle long?

Perhaps your battle is with a friend, family, work, finances, or even your health.

You've been fighting for days, weeks, months, maybe even years?  Are you tired?  Weary?  Has your strength depleted, worn you down, left you feeling defeated? Do you want to quit, or do you realize that the battle has already been won?

Look at your battle through eyes of victory instead of defeat.

Remember that at your weakest moment the Lord will send an Angel before you.

"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared."  Exodus 23:20

Remember that you are MORE than conquerors through Christ!

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Romans 8:37

No matter what you may be going through, right this very moment...

    Remember, that because of Jesus Christ...

        The battle is already won...

            But that's just me!

"When I see a battle, You see the victory."  Phil Wickham

You've already Won

Shane & Shane

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs 2023

Chorus:

"And I'm fighting a battle,

You've already won,

No matter what comes my way,

I will overcome,

Don't know what You're doing,

But I know what You've done,

And I'm fighting a battle,

You've already won!