He is Near

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Part of following Jesus means you go where He goes and Jesus goes to some out of the way places. We like to think Jesus makes us many promises that He hasn’t made. He hasn’t promised ease. He hasn’t promised a lack of trouble. But He has promised, no matter where we are our where our journey for the Gospel takes us, He would be there.

Quick story: My third mission trip was the first mission trip I ever took without my mentor. He had introduced me to missions, introduced me to people in several countries, and introduced me to people who had gone with me. But this third trip couldn’t go, and asked me to go in my place.

So I’m in Africa with a team of people who have never been to Africa, supposedly acting like I knew what I was doing.  But I was all the way on the other side of the planet and not very sure of myself. That first night, I woke up in the middle of the night incredibly afraid.

And there, in a little hut in Uganda, I started to sing, quietly, under my breath so I wouldn’t wake up my team. And after a minute or two His presence showed up. And I sat there for an hour or more singing and enjoying the presence of God. And it was that encounter with Jesus that strengthened me for the entire rest of the trip. I knew that God was with me and that was enough.

You may not be half way around the world right now. But wherever you are, God is there with you. You’re not alone. There’s nowhere you can go that is too hard for Him to find you. He is with you…even to the ends of the world. Be sure of this.