He Is Always There

Knowledge of God is the foundation of all Christian life and service and all faithful love for God. 

That is something Moses discovered. Born into the tribe of Levi, and brought up in the palace of Pharaoh, Moses made an early attempt to identify himself with the people of God when he came to the rescue of a Hebrew slave who was being beaten by an Egyptian.

 But all his ambitions to be the deliverer of his people came to nothing.

No doubt Moses felt deserted by God. Moses had hoped he would be the shepherd of Israel, leading them out of their captivity (see Acts 7:25), but instead, for forty years he was separated from them, tending sheep in the desert, he had become the shepherd of sheep!

He must have had moments — perhaps many of them — when he felt as though God had passed him by, feeling forgotten—mulling over in his mind out in that dark desert what might have been.

The desert around him symbolizes the desert within him. Far from enjoying the sense of God's presence, he was likely haunted by a sense of God's absence. His past was marred, his present was insignificant, and his future seemed relatively pointless, given all that God had invested in his life.

Little did Moses realize that he was on the verge of an encounter that would dramatically and permanently change the course of his life. He had led the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, across the desert to Horeb. There he met God. It was a turning point in human history; it was an epoch-making event in God's plan; but it was also the beginning of a new work—a new opportunity, in Moses' own life. He would never be the same.

At Horeb, the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush. That strange experience of the burning bush that was never consumed caused Moses to ask two questions which in many ways are the most important in the world.

 Out of the sense of personal inadequacy and weakness, he felt the call of God, Moses asked, 'Lord, who am I?' Beginning to sense the task to which he was being called, he asked,

 'Lord, who are you?' (Ex. 3:11,13).

 In these two questions, all other questions are summarized.

John Calvin, the reformer, once wrote that the sum of all our wisdom is the knowledge of God and of ourselves. The two can never be separated.

 We cannot know ourselves unless we see ourselves as we are in the presence of God. Nor can we come to know God without viewing ourselves in His light. 

The presence of God does two things: it makes us conscious of who he is, and it makes us aware of who we are in his wonderful presence. As Moses stood in the presence of the God who is a consuming fire but found that he was not consumed, he must have felt as though every last element of superficiality was being stripped from his being. In that context there could be no pretense; nor, in the desert, was there anywhere to hide. He was alone, with God, awed by his presence as the One who called himself 'I am who I am' (Ex. 3:14).

What does it mean to stand in the presence of God? In the Old Testament, to be 'in the presence of God' often translates a Hebrew expression meaning 'before the face of God.' It conveys the idea of coming face-to-face with him. More than that, since no man can see God's face and live.

One of our greatest needs in coming to know God is to live every moment with a sense and an awareness of His presence, He is always there.

When we walk through the valley of deep darkness or the shadow of death, we fear no evil. 

Why? Because He is with us (Ps. 23:4). We do not know whether He will reverse all human expectations and do the impossible. But we have his promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut. 31:6; Heb. 13:5). That is why we can say with confidence: 'The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' (Ps. 118:6-7; Heb. 13:6).

When we realize this truth of God's presence with us, certain things should follow in our lives, as they did in Moses' life. 

• We should be filled with new humility because we have met God. 

• We should be encouraged by a fresh sense of security — we have met God and lived; what else is there to fear? 

• We should be filled with undying gratitude, that God the Lord has worked on our behalf!

Is this the God you know? And is this the way you know him? When you do, nothing else matters.

Or better yet, everything else begins to fit into its proper place in the service of God. 

Sing Church—sing through the struggle---Praise His name He is always there, in the midst of the battle.