He Was There

In life there are times of darkness where it seems that God is absent. Maybe you are having one of those times right now. Friend, I want to encourage you that it can seem like God is not there, but He is. In the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 1, we find several stories where it seems like God is not present, but really is. For example let’s look at verses 1-17. There’s a lot of stories encompassed in all those generations, but was God still working in all of that? Yes! His plan took a long time, but that was part of the purpose of it. Did it mean that God did not care, because He did not visibly show up right away? No. In fact, He did show up many times in those generations that the Bible talks about. If we were to take just one of those little sections of history and zoom in on them, we would see the God of Heaven working in the lives of each one of those individuals who cared about them greatly.We would also see a God who cared about everyone else that was alive at the time of those individuals. So after Matthew has gotten done talking about the Family tree of Jesus, he zooms into the life of Jesus. During this story some amazing things happen, and I can honestly say that if I were simply involved in the story, it would seem, at first, like God was not working. Yet He was there.

So, what are some ways that God showed up in Matthew 1. First of all Mary was found to be with child by the Holy Ghost. Hit the pause button right there. Who all knew about this at the time it happened? Mary. That’s right, only Mary. Not her family, or anyone associated with her, but just Mary. Everyone else was probably simply going about their own business, not realizing what took place.

Now let’s transition over to Joseph at this point. He’s engaged and about to be married, and then finds out that Mary is already pregnant, before they have been together. Who all knows about this outside of Joseph and Mary? Nobody. Yet, God was there.

Now let’s transition over to when Joseph hears Mary tell him that she is pregnant. Does God intervene right away to let Joseph know what is going on? The answer again. No. In fact the Bible says that the “angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream” (Matthew 1:20) Not when Joseph is awake, but when he goes to bed. So I can picture in my imagination, Joseph laying in his bed going over the news he has just received, and having a horribly difficult time getting to sleep. In the space of time between Joseph being told by Mary that she is pregnant, and the angel appearing to him in a dream where was God? God was there.

In your situation, when you are unsure of something or trying to process through something difficult: Where is God. Friends, the Bible has the answer, God is there!! “Ok”, you may be saying, that’s great, but what if I want God to be really close to me right now. Well, then I have good news for you friend, all you have to do is talk to Him, and tell Him what is going on. You see it’s the in-between times where we are listening for His gentle response to our questions that we can be learning more about who He is, through His Word. God is there!

No matter what you may be going through, God’s Word assures us that He is there. Don’t be discouraged, trust Him, read His Word, ask for His guidance, and then trust that when He knows it is time to share it, He will. In the in-between times, study His Word and learn more about Him, and share what He has already done for you in the past. All the while remembering, that He was there, is there and will be there.

In closing this post, I would like to say this. Remember when Jesus was in Gethsemanie, and on the cross, and darkness was all around Him. Jesus held onto His Father even there. Even when it seemed that God was not there to His Son, He was! So friend, remember, you are not alone. Jesus knows what it is like to feel like God isn’t there. He took our sins upon Himself so that we could always know that He is there! We can know that through the thick darkness of uncertainty, God was there, is there and will be there!

(Ephesians 2:4-7)

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)2

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.