God's Continual Presence

Ruth, an 87-year-old lady, arose to speak in a congregational sharing. "As most of you know, I am legally blind. The thing I have most regretted is that I can no longer make eye contact with you. But this morning I was listening to scripture on tape and heard that God guides me with His eye, and I realized that I can still have eye contact with God."

We, too, can choose to look to God and recognize He is near us. As we learn to acknowledge Him in all our ways, the consciousness of His presence becomes real and delightful. 

"The Lord will guide you always" (Isaiah 58:11). Always! There never needs to be a moment He is not guiding us. It's a matter of trusting He is guiding and always obeying the still small voice.

To the degree that we live with the consciousness "The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:5) and recognize His presence and look to Him, He will respond to our trust and honor our confidence.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy saw the lion Aslan and began to follow him. The others could not see him at first, but the longer they followed, the more visible Aslan became to them. Similarly, the more we seek to follow the Spirit within, the more His presence becomes real to us. If we have received the Holy Spirit, He is perpetually within whether we sense His presence or not. Then as we cultivate an awareness of His presence, we become increasingly aware of Him.

Thank You, Jesus, that every moment I surrender, I can be filled with the confidence that You are near and having Your way in my life.

"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them" (Exodus 15:13