God Is With You Where You Are
(The thoughts of this article were taken from an Advent meditation by Frank A. James of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary)
How does your theology handle bad or difficult times? How does it handle sickness, doubt, fear or depression? Does it say that these are products of your lack of faith, wrong understanding or weak declaration? Does your theology instruct you to keep trying harder and to press through hardship? Or, does it lead you to behold God’s mysterious presence and power with and in you? Does the application of your theology cause you to think about yourself and getting your act in order, or does it lead you to worship and hope in God – even when things are tough?
Martin Luther was inspired by Psalm 46 to write his 1527 hymn: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Luther composed it in one of the most difficult years of his life. Overcome with anxiety he wrote, “I spent more than a week in death and hell…Completely abandoned by Christ, I labored under the vacillations and storms of desperation and blasphemy against God.”
Struggling with depression, he turned to Psalm 46 and found encouragement for his soul. When God’s people face any kind of trouble, they must remember this one thing: “God is with us.” Four times, the Psalmist makes this assertion (Verses 1,5,7, 11).
To declare God is with us does not mean we will experience no pain, no heartache, no disappointment, no failure. It does mean that God is with us in the trouble. He is our “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (v. 1) And so Luther’s hymn proclaims:
“A Mighty Fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our Helper He amid the flood …”
God’s presence means that He sovereignly rules over the chaos, over the brokenness and messiness of our lives by entering into the trouble with us. He is not remote or removed from our trials—He is in it with us. Matthew [1:23] specifically identifies Jesus with the promise of Isaiah 7:14 that Jesus is Immanuel—”God with us.” The birth of Jesus was the supreme expression of God with us in our troubles.
What difficulties are you facing today? Express them to God in the best way you can. Be raw, be articulate, be calculated, and/or be emotional – most importantly, be honest and expressive. Once you have poured out your heart, “Be still (cease from striving), and know … God.” (Psalm 46:10) Allow your soul to hope and rest in Almighty God’s presence with you.
Living in God’s Presence with you,
Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org
