Where shall I go from Your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there Your hand shall lead me,
and Your right hand shall hold me.
~ Psalm 139:7-10
To the ends of the earth and beyond…
It is such a comfort to know I am never alone. Never. Even if I tried to hide from God’s presence… I couldn’t. It is impossible. God is everywhere. He is in places I don’t even know exist due to my limited mind and experience.
He is the Great I Am, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega (Revelations 22:13). And He knows me. Everything about me. Including when I want to run away and hide. Why do I try to hide?
Usually, because I already know I’m blowing it… I may want to stay mad and hold a grudge instead of forgiving. I may want to continue to complain about how I’m not getting what I want or find something to be judgy about that I just can’t let go of. Maybe I want to stay wallowing in self-pity even after the Holy Spirit nudges me to move on because He has a better plan. Which may mean I need to keep waiting. Ugh!
Or maybe I’m not hiding but something inside, an old hurt, button or mindset keeps dogging me keeping me from receiving His never-ending, unfailing love. Can He, a perfect God, really love me with all my faults, with all my frailties, with… my humanness? Oh, why am I so, so human? Ugh!
But…
He does.
He has gone to great lengths to show His love to us by sending Jesus. Who willingly laid down His life for me, for you, so we could have a never-ending, everlasting relationship with Him.
He treasures us.
We are His prize… and He wants us! Imagine that!
One of the last things Jesus said to His disciples, and by extension us, before He ascended was this, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world/age/ close and consummation of the age. (Matthew 28:20 – various translations)
It makes me think of a scene in the Disney movie Hercules where Hercules goes to Hell to save the one he loves, Meg. There is a line from the movie to the effect ~ people do crazy things for love. To Hell and back for love. Isn’t that what Jesus literally did? Took the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18), and set us free, and now we are His prize (Hebrews 2:2).
Even if I took the wings of the morning, or dwelt in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there… He is even there with me, to guide me, to hold my hand. There isn’t a moment that He has not been with me, with you. Even in some of the ugliest moments, He was there. That is sometimes hard to swallow, knowing He was there, when I was hurt by another, or when tragedy struck.
I have questioned why He let certain things happen, and while I can’t say I have a good answer for the why it happened…
what I heard in my heart was…
I was there…
Right there with you.
And because I know the end of some of those chapters in my life story, I can see how He orchestrated freedom for me. In some cases, another person stepped in. Another time He finally got my attention so I made a necessary change. And other times when I was spent and had nothing left in me to fight… He fought for me in ways I can’t even explain. I just know it was Him.
My savior, My friend, the One who will never leave me alone, who will always be there for me… to the ends of the earth and beyond.
Take a moment to consider how He has been with you through the good, the bad, and the ordinary. If there is an area you need to talk out with Him, take the time to pour out your heart, and then listen to what He wants to share with you.
Give a listen to this song I wrote almost 25 years ago: I Am Not Alone
