His Presence

God is with you today, even when you don't feel Him there.  I wrote this many years ago, but it came to mind when I had a talk with a friend the other day about God's presence.

How often do I wonder if You hear me when I cry.
How often do I fear that You won't want me when I die.
How often do I feel that You're just sitting there on high
not caring if my heart is sad, or if in tears I lie.

How often do I wonder if You hold me in Your hand.
How often do I feel that I'm just sinking in the sand.
How often does my heart cry – “Are You really in command?"
How often, it's so often, that I feel, alone I stand.

Oh my father God in heaven, my mind knows when I cry
that You are ever near me, and You'll be there when I die,
that You are not ignoring me , just sitting there on high -
without a thought or care for me, when I question -- Jesus why?

My mind knows, but my heart sometimes forgets when I am low
of Your presence and the love for me, and miracles You show.
My mind knows, but my heart forgets when anxious feelings grow.
Please help my heart remember
Your presence is the blessing
that I can always know.

My friend gave me this little bit of advice that I'd like to share it with you.

One secret to developing a heart of gratitude is that we shouldn't wait for something

to be happy about. We need to stretch ourselves and claim the blessing of God’s

presence in every situation.

Isn’t that profound? How many times have you been down in the dumps and thought that there was nothing to be happy about. “The blues” come into everyone’s lives – some of us more than others.

I’ve been blessed with a personality that seems be positive most of the time. But there are certainly days that you wouldn’t want to be around me because I’m a real grump. Depression doesn’t settle on me often, but when it does, I realize just how unpleasant it can be.

About three mornings a week I stumble into the living room, strap the weights on my ankles and do my exercises. I stretch and I lift and I grunt and I sweat, and then I stretch again. The knees need the workout, as well as the tummy and back of course. But in spending those 40 – 45 minutes on the floor, I’m developing stronger muscles and a body that will be able to handle the things I expect it to do.

Of course I could just sit around and wait for the muscles to get strong on their own, I could moan about not being strong enough to climb our driveway, or walk in the woods. Or I could sit and wonder why God doesn’t fix my old knees, but I really don’t think that would do a lot of good. It’s the same way with developing any good thing. We have to work at it. We have to stretch ourselves.

So when we get to feeling a little blue and don’t think there’s anything to smile about, we need to open ourselves to the idea that God’s presence is the greatest gift of all. That’s something to be grateful and happy about even in the hard times.

You know that song, count your many blessings, name them one by one? Well if there was only one, what better blessing to sing about than God’s presence! The Bible calls Him Immanuel, which means God with us. He is!

Thanksgiving

November is the month of Thanksgiving, I’ll bet that when you were a little child your mom taught you to say “please and thank you.” I remember so many times when someone gave me a piece of candy or a gift, my mom saying, “And Diane, what do you say?”

Do you think that’s what God wants from us – a polite “Thank You?” I really don’t think so. Oh, I believe He wants to hear us say the words, but only if they come from deep within our hearts. A heart overflowing with gratitude is what God expects from His children.

Colossians 2:6-7 tells us, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

God wants our hearts to be filled to the brim and overflowing with thankfulness to HIM. I get a little upset at Thanksgiving time, because it’s lost much of the meaning it held when our nation began to celebrate that holiday. The early settlers were Christian people who, with overflowing hearts thanked God for His care, His provisions, and His help.

It wasn't until 1941 Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday. That may have been a good thing, and maybe not, considering what the holiday has become. People think of it as a day of watching football and eating Turkey. In fact many of the cards you see in the stores refer only to “Turkey Day.” If you see a card that speaks of giving thanks, it seems more often than not the emphasis is on thanking other people – not God. That wasn’t the way the observance began, and if we think about where everything ultimately comes from – it’s probably not the way it should be celebrated now.

Hebrews 12:28 tells us, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

Worshipping God with thankfulness, with reverence and awe, means seeing Him as He is - The Ultimate, The Creator, The Life Giver, The Gift Giver, and our Savior.

So what should we be thankful to God for?  The scripture tells us some of the things.

People  - 1 Timothy 2:1 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—“

Think about the people that have filled your life over the years, family, friends, and acquaintances, teachers and preachers. They are all people who have helped you grow and taught you life lessons. Some of the lessons were hard and others were taught in a gentle manner. I think about one man who served as the preacher for our church in Texas for a short time. He taught us all to laugh and he taught us to hug and he taught us generosity. This man had a huge influence in my life and the lives of my husband and children – because he lived exactly that way – laughing, hugging and giving.  I also think about my parents who brought me up in a home that was dedicated to God.

Every gift - In 1 Timothy 4:4 we read, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”

Everything that God created is good. Wow! When He made the world, the grass, the trees, the fish and the birds and the sky and the sea, He said “It is good.” But as we look around us, and as we receive the blessings that God has given us, do we receive them with thanksgiving? Do we actually thank HIM for warmth, for sunlight, for rain, for a place to lay our tired heads at night? Or do we think that we did something to earn all of that?

James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Every situation -  The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Every situation may not be pleasant. I’m sure that many of you know that with a deeper intensity than I do, and there are times that all we can do is cry. God says not to be anxious, but how can we do that?   The scripture says, by prayer and petition – by talking to God, but always with a grateful heart. and “with thanksgiving.” I don’t believe we need to be pleased with adversity, but we can always be thankful to God that He is in the adversity with us.

He walks with me
In sunshine or in rain
He’s by my side
Oh may I ne’re complain
He aches with me
As I try to stand in vain
He breathes for me
when my body’s racked with pain.

God loves me so
May I with heart and voice
Give thanks to Him
And in His love rejoice.

Remember with me that Thanksgiving is a decision not a date on the calendar.

May God bless each one of you  - I thank God that He put you into my life..