Always

Matthew 28:20 AMP I am with you always, remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion, even to the end of the age.

Whether in sports or business, we live in a culture where you are only as good as your last great achievement. And unfortunately, for many, this extends to their spiritual life as well. We do not get right or stay right with God by performing good deeds and avoiding bad ones. Our life in Christ is about our redemption paid for by the blood of Jesus; it is God’s grace and mercy—from beginning to end.

How different would we live life if we grasped the promise God has repeatedly made: “I will be with you always." God and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit are constant and unchanging; He is with us, regardless of our circumstances or feelings, never leaving us like orphans. On your best day—when you reached out to that friend who was hurting—God was with you. On your worst day—when you blew up at your spouse or kids—God was with you. It has never been about your performance but about God’s unconditional love. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). It is about knowing that God first chose us (John 15:16), not about trying to earn God’s favor but recognizing it is a free gift (Psalm 5:12, Ephesians 2:8-9).

Most would say God is always available; all we have to do is call to him, and that is certainly true. But that also portrays God at a distance, out there somewhere solving much bigger problems, and that is not the God we serve. Psalm 46:1 says he is “ever-present.” When challenges and troubles occur or when life is good, God is already there; his presence is ever-present with you. When you call out to God, you are not asking him to change his physical location; you are announcing your need, your total dependence on him, and he is there to respond. When you call out, it is not God that changed position; it is you. “Draw near to God, and I will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

When David defeated Goliath, when Gideon’s 300 defeated the Midianite army of 135,000, when Moses led the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, when Daniel emerged unscathed from a night in the lion’s den, and when Peter worshipped in prison, they all knew what Isaiah the prophet had said, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV). Not a promise that He will be with you, but that I am with you: present tense! He is the great I AM.

However, the fact that God’s presence is always with you can be abstract and, at times, hard to grasp. Too often, we determine truth and reality based on circumstances, outcomes, feelings, and emotions. However, there is one place that God’s presence always becomes evident and undeniable. Throughout Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s time under King Nebuchadnezzar, while rejecting the royal food and wine, interpreting the king’s dream, and being placed in positions of power and authority, God’s presence had been with them. But when thrown into the fiery furnace, it was then that the king and all those around him saw the evidence of God’s presence. “He said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.'” (Daniel 3:25-26). The fire of persecution, trials, and trouble always reveals God’s presence with you.

Jesus took ALL our sin, and when we surrender to his Lordship, we receive ALL His righteousness, the Holy Spirit, and HIS presence always with us. Not by effort, but by His grace and mercy alone. He is with you always. Let’s live like it!

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

John 14:16-18 NLT I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

1 Corinthians 3:16 AMP Do you not discern and understand that you are God's temple, His sanctuary, and that God's Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you ?

Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

Joshua 1:5 NIV No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Isaiah 41:10 NIV So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Joshua 1:9 NIV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Genesis 28:15 NIV I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Psalms 94:14 NIV For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

Psalms 55:22 NIV Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Deuteronomy 4:31 NLT For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.

Isaiah 41:13 TPT I am Yahweh , your mighty God! I hold your right hand and won’t let you go ! I whisper to you: ‘Don’t be afraid; I am here to help you!

1 Kings 8:56-57 NLT Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us.

Psalms 139:7-10 NLT I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.