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!