He is With You

I didn’t use to think about God very often. But did you know that God is with us throughout our day, even if we’re not thinking about Him? When I was in high school, I really struggled with what people thought of me. Did people even want me around? As I read through the Scriptures, I read about the Creator of the Universe and how much He loves us and chases after us. The same God who breathed the galaxies into existence wants a personal relationship with me, and He wants a relationship with you too! That’s why Jesus came. He is literally called Immanuel, or “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). The more I read my Bible, the more I find verses and passages talking about how God is always with us. In Joshua 1:9, Joshua was about to enter the Promised Land with all of the Israelites, which meant entering into battles with much bigger and stronger armies. But God said that He was WITH them, so they could take courage and didn’t have anything to fear. God tells us the same thing today. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we don’t have to fear or be stressed because God is always with us. Generations after God spoke to Joshua, God spoke to His people through the prophet Zephaniah—which is one of my favorite names in the entire Bible! In Zephaniah 3:14-20, we get a glimpse of how God will save the people of Judah from exile and how God will save the world through Jesus. This passage reminds us that, even when all seems hopeless, God has always been and always will be in control of everything. Verse 17 says, “ your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” Not only is God with us—He’s happy to be with us! This last verse is from one of my FAVORITE Psalms: “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). When life is hard, sometimes it feels like we’re walking through “the valley of the shadow of death,” but even then, God is with us, ready to comfort and help us. As I look back on my life, God has always been with me. When things were good, He was there. When things were bad, He was right there too, whether I was thinking about Him or not. I wish I knew that sooner, because I spent a lot of time thinking I was alone. • Hunter Taylor • When do you feel alone? “ your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (WEB)