“Um, Hang On A Second God.”

A young, sweet friend of mine told me she was doing her morning “quiet time” with the LORD. She grabbed her journal, Bible, cup of coffee and sat down. A moment later, with pointer finger in the air, she whispered, “Umm, hang on a second God, I’ve got to go get my bagel out of the toaster.”

We both shook our heads and giggled as she relayed this story, because it’s absolutely laughable, right? “Hang on a second God, I’ve got to go get my bagel out of the toaster?” WHAT?  As if God wouldn’t be with her when she crossed the room and went into the kitchen to get her toasted bagel.

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BUT it is a pervasive thought many have. In the morning, when I set enough time aside, God is with me. But when I go about the normal activities of my day, I’ve left him behind. Where do we get this kind of thinking? Is God only with us while we sit in our quiet time chairs or saying our prayers?

No! God is with us everywhere and knows everything about us and our days. Every day is written in His book before any of them come to be. Here is a portion of Psalm 139:1-16. As you read it, I hope you will be comforted by the God who is familiar with every detail of your life. You can’t escape his presence.

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

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.

I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

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but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

We are all in process! We can be thankful for the nearness of God and His presence in the process. He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 

So say aloud.

• I am in process.
• God is still working on me.
• God is with me, right now!

No matter where we go, no matter what we do or how we feel we have these promises of God:

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Do you ever feel like God is distant or is uninterested in your life? If so, I hope you’ll take comfort in the fact that God is a “with us” Emmanuel. He is very near.

Thank Him for his presence even in the morning when you are eating your bagel.