Matthew 1:18-25
How do you know Jesus is with you? Were you aware of Jesus’ presence with you at work, at school, or at home or when you were alone? There are times we may feel close to Him. We sense His care and concern for us. We walk in constant awareness of His presence and see His fingerprints around us every day. We naturally turn to prayer multiple times. We sense Him in our spirit and in all we experience.
But there are other times when we wonder if He’s distant or silent or maybe even gone. Things happen that cloud our vision of Him or batter our belief that He’s present right here and right now. Or maybe you don’t believe that Jesus or God is present with you. Maybe you believe that Jesus is somewhere in heaven and looks down on what’s going on here. And maybe He looks at your life and circumstances when the earth rotates so St. Albert is right in front of him. But the rest of the time He doesn’t see you at your job or at home or when you’re alone or when you face trouble. Is Jesus with us? How can we know? What can we do to recapture an awareness of Jesus’ presence and power in our lives?
One way is to recall what we know about Jesus. In one of our small group gatherings, someone shared about a difficult time they were going through in their lives. One of their friends first asked them the question. “What do you feel about God or towards God?” After they shared what they felt about God, their friend asked them a second question. “Now, what do you know about God?” That question altered the focus towards knowledge about God and His character. That translated into a greater confidence of God’s presence and provision in the situation.
The same is true for us today. The more we know about Jesus, the greater confidence we can have in His power and presence in our lives today (if we are one of His).
