He was already there!
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28: 20(b)
I heard someone talking the other day, relaying a story of hardship that had befallen a family. The husband was out of work, they were about to lose their home to foreclosure, and one of the children was sick and there was no health insurance. Things were definitely tough.
Then the person relaying the story said that an amazing thing happened.
“God showed up,” he said.
Hmmm.
I understand what the man meant, but I strongly disagree with the sentiment. This isn’t the first time I have heard the phrase “God showed up.” Frankly, I think it is probably pretty insulting to God.
Here is the fact: God is always here. Always.
Christ promised us that He is with us always as He ascended into Heaven, in what has become known as The Great Commission:
19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28: 19-20
We trivialize God when we believe that He “shows up” only at certain times. We are told He knows every hair on our head (Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12: 7), that He knew us as we were being knitted together in our mother’s womb (Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1: 5) …. yet we believe God only “shows up” on certain occasions?
God walks with us, lives in us, and loves us more deeply than we will ever be able to comprehend. It only stands to reason that He is wherever we are, waiting for us to acknowledge Him, and love Him in return.
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