"I am with you always" (A promise for 2023)
Many times in the Bible we read about the importance of remembrance. Israel’s liturgical calendar was bound up with remembrance. The Feast of Passover was celebrated, reminding the people of the time when God rescued them from Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. The Feast of Tabernacles reminded the people how God kept them throughout their wilderness wanderings and brought them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Remembering who God is, what he has promised, and what he has done for his people is a vital activity for Christians today. It is intended to encourage for today and the days ahead, even if we are experiencing times of trial and suffering.
The Christian life is not an easy one. No-one chooses to become a Christian because we think that we have life all sewn up and we do not have any problems. Indeed, the Bible does not promise us that kind of life, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Life is described as a vale of tears. The Lord brings many challenges upon his people, it may be that you are going through trials and suffering yourselves; illnesses, caring for your loved ones, grieving, family issues, problems in jobs, and so on. It may appear, in God’s providence, that there are going to be painful days ahead. When we think of these things and experience them, life can be so hard; at times getting up in the morning and getting to church are victories of faith. It is possible, even as Christians, that we feel so beleaguered and broken in trying to run the race that we can feel like we are crawling rather than running.
At times like this, it is crucial to take our eyes off ourselves and focus on God, and on his Word and his work. We have a wonderful promise from the Lord Jesus Christ which he gave to his disciples when he was about to leave them, to ascend into the heavens – “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
This is a promise that our Lord gave to his disciples which was for his church in every age. A promise that would be fulfilled in every Christian, in every church in every city in every nation in every continent and he will never leave us nor forsake us.
The promise that Jesus made was not new, God has always been this way toward his people. Throughout the story of God’s people we are able to trace God’s faithfulness, his consistency to his promises. Here are a few examples: when God sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh to tell him to “let my people go,” Moses was afraid and argued with God, but the Lord encouraged him, “but I will be with you.” The same message the Lord gave to Joshua to strengthen him as he was to lead Israel in the conquest of the land of Canaan. When Gideon wondered why on earth God would pick him to lead the people against the Midianites when he was the most insignificant man in his family, and even his family and clan were the least significant in the tribe, God said to Gideon, “but I will be with you!” We could multiply these examples, as God spoke the same words to other men such as David, and Elisha, but not only did he say these words, he acted upon them, for the individuals and for the people. We are drawn to see a very vivid example of this great truth in the awesome story of Daniel’s friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, the Son of God walking with them in the fire, and keeping them safe.
It should be no surprise to us then, that when we come to the New Testament, the promise Jesus gives his people is the same—he is with us always, indeed, as Immanuel (God with us) he embodies that promise; a present reality and a future hope.
Of course, Jesus is not with us in body; he has ascended to heaven. But he has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. Through the indwelling of Holy Spirit we have Union with our Lord. For those who belong to Jesus Christ, it is impossible for us to be truly separated from him though at times we may feel that he is distant from us. We are bound to our Saviour, and to our Heavenly Father by virtue of the faith that we have been granted by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
We are reminded of this great truth, particularly on the Lord’s Day in the gathering of the church, Christ’s body, for worship. Time spent together as the gathered congregation, in prayer, in singing hymns and psalms, under the sound of the Word of God, in the presence of God is a regular reminder that God is with us. The Word and the Spirit working together for the building up of the congregation of God’s people. Through these means, our Lord Jesus blesses his people and testifies to us that he is with us.
There’s a poem, familiar to many, that’s been written by a Christian called “Footprints in the Sand.” It describes a dream in which the experiences of life flashed across the sky. In each scene, there were 2 sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to the Lord, and one belonging to the author. After the last scene had passed by and the author looked back at the footprints in the sand they noticed that during the deepest, darkest trials there was only one set of footprints in the sand. They were troubled by this and asked the Lord, why, in those darkest of times had they been left alone when the Lord had promised that He would always be with them.
God responded: "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
It is an extremely simple poem, but it is also profound, for what is described in this dream is the reality of the Christian experience. It speaks of the wonderful truth that although there are those occasions when the trial seems to be too hard for us when our feet are so weary that we scarce can take another step, even when we think we are alone, our God will take us up in His loving arms and carry us through. When these providences fall out to us according to the will of God, we must believe these truths, we must trust our Heavenly Father, trust the word of our Lord and Saviour, remember his faithfulness through the years, and remember those precious words, “I am with you always”, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
