Many times as Christians,as promised in the scriptures we pass through fire,go through storms,persecutions, and so on. And usually we may comfort ourselves with these God-breathed words:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go – Joshua 1:9
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand – Isaiah 41:10
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:6
And teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of age. – Matthew 28:20
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me -Psalm 23:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world – I John 4:4
But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten – Jeremiah 20:11
Sometimes, the enemy may try to plant doubts in our hearts or our minds may start to ask us questions like – Really? God is with you? Where is He? Do you really see Him anywhere? Does it feel like He is anywhere near you or with you or in you?
Truth be told, the pain we probably go through or battles we encounter may have us feeling all alone. But the fact is God really is with His children just as He has spoken and promised in the scripture. Only if He would open our eyes to see how much we are surrounded by Him and how much of Him is in us. Only if……..!
There was a man who had almost the same feeling that I have just described and God opened his eyes. He was the servant of the great prophet, Elisha. He got up early in the morning only to discover that the whole city had been surrounded by a great of army of enemies- the Syrian army. He ran back to Elisha saying to him, “We are doomed, sir! what shall we do? II Kings 6:15 . This is an expression that we just may be familiar with when faced with adversity.
But Elisha, who was spiritually intelligent, had spiritual eyesight could see that God was really with them. He responded to His servant saying, “Don’t be afraid, we have more on our side than they have on theirs” II Kings 6:17 By this, he meant the horses and chariots of fire all around him.
Elisha probably knew that if his servant’s spiritual eyes were open to see the army on their side to fight with them and for them his faith will be strengthened. Then he prayed to his God to open his eyes to see.
Another example is Job, even the devil recognized that God had a wall of protection round about Him, His family and everything that He had. Job 1:10
May the good Lord open our eyes to see that we are really surrounded by Him in Jesus name
So to answer my question on the title of this blog post, Yes God really is with us,His children.He is with us like a mighty terrible one,we can either choose to believe or ask Him to show us so we have no doubts about this.
But it is noteworthy that Elisha and Job:
- were committed men of God, they communed with God.
- Strove for holiness within and out
- Lived lives of sacrifice
- Their lives really pleased God
Once this is in place, once we are in the right standing with the Lord, most high, the creator of the heavens and the earth- He really is with us. That’s why words of wisdom of the bible tells us to be careful that we do not break the hedge round about us, else we give room for the enemy to crawl in to bite – Ecclesiastes 10:8.
May the Lord Jesus Christ help our faith to believe and trust His presence in our lives and may we not break the hedge round about us in Jesus name-Amen.