Friday, July 27, 2012

Weekly Devotional - July 27, 2012


“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?”
Psalm 139:7 NIV

A friend’s testimony of what she’s going through as her husband faces a life-threatening infection led me to Psalm 139. King David wrote the psalm expressing attributes of God: He knows all things and is present in all places. Especially moving to me when I read Psalm 139 is the listing of places a person might go - intentionally to hide from God or unintentionally as driven by circumstances - yet God is there. And God did not arrive when that person arrived there; He was already there.

A couple of decades ago I enjoyed writing songs. Some were pretty good and others were quickly forgotten. Perhaps I wrote some of them just for myself because I cannot remember much more than a hook phrase for some. But one was written out of Psalm 139 and the phrase I remember is, “Where you are now, He’s already been.”

My friend’s circumstances - and my own, perhaps yours, too - have taken her to unexpected places. She wrote in a Facebook post that she felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster: at times high in the clouds then suddenly in the depths. You’ve been there, haven’t you? The good news / bad news of a medical emergency? The sudden change in a job situation? The chill of an empty house when the spouse has moved out? The constant ringing of the phone and you know it’s bill collectors?

“Where you are now, He’s already been.” If you were to try to escape God’s presence you would find he is waiting for you around the corner or in your hiding place. If circumstances drive you to the heights and depths of emotion you will find God is there.

And God is not there to punish you but to restore you, refresh you, and redeem you. Pray that God will meet you where you are today.

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