Present...

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   
Matthew 28:20

  We had a women’s conference at church a few weekends ago. I was only able to attend the Friday night session. It had been a busy and hectic day and I hurried to arrive at the church, thinking I would be a little late. However, I slipped into my seat a little early and as I let out a big sigh I said, “Lord, I really need You to meet me here tonight.”

Almost immediately, in my spirit I heard, “I’m already here”.

How silly of me. Of course He was already there. God is present everywhere at all times! He was in the car with me as I was rushing to deliver children to their various activities that night. He was with me all day as I carried out my daily responsibilities. His Spirit dwells in me, so of course He was with me!

Why do we think we have to coax God to meet with us? We get to church and “invite” Him to come! Was He not in the car on the way? Was He not at home while you were doing laundry, or scrubbing floors, or teaching children (I’m a home school mom)? Was He not sitting at your desk with you at work?

Personally, I know it’s not just a matter of Him not being with me, but of me being to busy to notice He’s there. I guess what I really meant, was "Lord, it's quiet now...can we talk?"

Sometimes I get so caught up in the busy-ness of life, that I don't acknowledge Him being with me until I get to church and we begin to worship. My prayer to Him that night was to help me remember that He is present…with me…at all times. But then that started me thinking…how would we behave if we stayed aware of His Presence at all times? 

What would we say?    
What would we do?    
How would we treat others?    
How would we spend our time?    
What music would we listen to?    
What books would we read?    
What would we watch on TV? 

I don’t mean for us to get all stuffy and pious…self-righteousness is not the answer. This doesn’t require us to spend 18 of our 24 hours a day in our prayer closet. Think about when Jesus walked with His disciples. Didn’t they fish? Didn’t they prepare meals? Didn’t they laugh and enjoy life together?

Remember when they were walking along the seashore and the disciples tried to shoo the children away? Jesus stopped and played with them! I remember as a child my Sunday School teacher, Sister Long, had a picture of Jesus sitting on a rock with the children gathered around Him. But, for some reason, I have always pictured in my mind Jesus playing tag with them on the beach.

Don’t know why…just the way I pictured it.

The disciples had daily responsibilities to attend to…and Jesus was there with them. In all that they did…He was there. 

He still is... 

So, when we are going about our responsibilities…cooking meals, washing clothes, going to work, chauffeuring children, preparing for church activities, or even relaxing and having fun…He’s there with us. The challenge…if we stayed aware of that, would it change the way we go about those responsibilities and activities? 

Would it change the words we say?    
Would it change the things we do?    
Would it change the way we treat others?    
Would it change how we spend our time?    
Would it change the music we listen to?    
Would it change the books we read?    
Would it change what we watch on TV? 

I know there are times I speak and wish afterward I hadn’t. I know there are times I do things I probably wouldn’t do if I remembered He was standing right beside me. I think God would watch TV with us…but would we might have to change the channel sometimes. I think He would watch Dancing with the Stars with me, but like my 12 year old son, He would probably say, “They need to put some more clothes on!” But I’m sure there are some shows He would prefer to step out of the room if I were watching them.

Remember the Charles Sheldon book, What Would Jesus Do? A few years ago it started the movement with WWJD printed on everything. It was really so overused, that now people tend to roll their eyes when you mention it. But in reality, we need to ask ourselves…”What would Jesus do?” Or maybe we just need to stop and ask Him, “Jesus, what should we do?”

Because you know, He is always…  

Present…