Is God by Your Side—can You Sense It?
Author
Miriam Carrasquillo
Summary: In times of trial, we need to be more conscious of God’s presence. He does not abandon His children in times of difficulty; rather, He goes through every experience with us and incorporates it into His purposes. In this way, He accompanied Daniel in the lions’ den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and Joseph throughout the long years of suffering. Although we often sense Him less in adversity, God uses those very situations to reveal Himself and make us aware of His nearness. As long as we journey through this world, we will face difficulties, but we can pause and remember that our Creator remains by our side: we are not alone; God is with us.
One afternoon, while sitting in my living room, I listened to an inspiring sermon by a well-known preacher. In his message, he said that the time of trial was when a child of God most needed to be aware of the Lord’s presence by their side.
Aware that He is there in those difficult moments.
This sermon really caught my attention because the speaker said that God would not let His children go through trials unless He, God Himself, went through them with them. Every incident or event in our pilgrimage on earth has a specific purpose within God’s plans, and in each one He promises to be by our side. Just as God was with Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 6), and with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), so He promises to be with us. God’s presence among these men was so obvious that even the spectators could see Him from outside. When they looked into the furnace, they did not see the three men who had been thrown in, but four (Daniel 3:24–25); God was with them inside the furnace. Just as He was also with Joseph (Genesis 37-) when he went through the bitter experience of being sold by his own brothers. Throughout the years, and for the entire time his trial lasted, God was with him.
When trials come, that is when we perceive God least in our lives. And that is when He most wants to make Himself seen and felt by our side. It is at that precise moment that we can perceive His presence as tangibly as the very presence of a human being. God uses trials to reveal Himself to us.
As long as we are on this earth, we have to go through difficult situations. But as children of God, we know that everything has a purpose in the Lord’s plans. No matter what trial you are going through, stop for a second and remember that the Creator of the Universe, your Creator, is by your side. YOU ARE NOT ALONE; GOD IS WITH YOU.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for always being by our side and for helping us fully understand what that means. Through Jesus. Amen.