We had a very strong storm move through Monday afternoon leaving many people without electricity for an extended period. I was very fortunate that I had no interruption of power at all. However, just after midnight, the Lord and I took our usual stroll to the bathroom. (Whenever I stand to walk anywhere I always ask my Lord to walk with me and help me make it safely.) Don’t judge me. If you live long enough you will also have the thrill of returning to sleep after such a walk. While I was in the bathroom the power went out leaving me in total, pitch black darkness. I asked the Lord to somehow help me get to an LED lantern in my living room. At that moment the power came back on and I praised God all of the way back to sleep.
The reason I am sharing this slightly embarrassing event with you is to illustrate how important it is for Christians to maintain God’s presence with us in every situation – every moment of our life. When I was suddenly plunged into total darkness, my immediate reaction was not fear or panic; it was how are we going to overcome this situation? God is omnipresent, but He doesn’t go where He is not invited. He is always standing at the door waiting patiently for us to let Him in. It has taken me years and two arthritic knees to realize how much I need God with me constantly; His Holy Spirit within me, my Lord and Savior walking with me or my Heavenly Father dispatching angels to protect and help me.
From the moment he was conceived in Mary’s womb, Jesus knew the presence of his Heavenly Father throughout his life until that moment on the cross when he took upon himself all of the sins of the world and his Father could not stand to even look at him. He was bearing unimaginable physical pain, but what made him cry out was being separated from his Father. (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)
I have written before that it wasn’t the fire and brimstone of hell that scared me; it was total separation from God that I could not bear to even think about. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that because of God’s mercy and grace through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will simply transfer from His presence with us here to His immediate presence in the kingdom of heaven.