Will God Be There?

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Will God Be There?

“The Lord…sent them…ahead of him to every town and place where he was to go.” Luke 10:1

Three friends, newly retired from teaching, had taken the long-dreamed-of plunge: they volunteered for an educational project to a part of the world they had only read about in National Geographic magazine. But one glance at the globe was enough to unleash a trainload of questions. Is the water pure? Is in-country travel safe? What if we get sick? Are the people friendly? What is the political situation? While some of their questions could be factually answered, others fell into that grey area best described by the qualifiers “maybe, usually, yes, but.”

Whether it be a mission trip or a new job, child-raising or a geographic move, the Christian must ultimately rest on the promise, “where God leads, God provides.” Although Jesus gave quite explicit advice to “mission trip participants” he once sent on a daring adventure, the most reassuring words describing that experience remain, “The Lord…sent them…ahead of him to every town and place where he was to go.”

As we follow God’s call into frequently dim corners of life, we can be sure that Jesus is intimately involved. Sometimes he goes ahead, sometimes he walks alongside and sometimes his plan is to follow in our footsteps. But he’s always there.

Father, because I can’t see your physical presence, I sometimes doubt your actual presence. Thank you for the promise that you will never leave me nor forsake me.

By Marilyn Ehle