3/1/2025
Dear Fairview Community Christian Church,
I hope you are well in the Lord. I want to write to you this month concerning a truth I have been meditating on regularly and that is the presence of God with us. I want you to think for a moment that right now as I write this to you God is with me and that as you receive and read this letter God is with you. God is always near, Acts 17:27-28 says this, “that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being…”. It brings me great joy knowing that my God is near to me.
Speaking of finding joy in the presence of God it reminds me of a verse someone shared with me, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). In the presence of God is fullness of joy, where does your joy come from? We often look toward worldly pleasures to find joy but it often leaves us feeling unsatisfied but this scripture tells us we can have complete joy simply by being in the presence of God. Right now you and I have access to joy unimaginable if we are willing to seek God and enter into his presence.
I know it can be hard for us to grapple with this idea of the presence of God because honestly we don’t always feel him with us. Yet just because we don’t feel him doesn't mean it's not true, for example we all know gravity exists but we are not always aware of it pulling down on us. We must learn to embrace this truth in faith. We must remind ourselves everyday that he is with us and that we can talk to him and he will be here to help us. I want to leave you with a final verse of encouragement, these are the words that God told Joshua when he wanted him to go into the Promised Land despite the opposition they would face. God said, “"Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9). I do believe God would want to remind all of us of this truth that we do not need to fear what is to come for he is with us.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Ben