“Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.”
Psalm 34:3

The waves broke and water swirled around our feet, bringing shrieks of cold joy from our boys. My husband and I laughed, watching them chase the water and then run as it chased them back. The ocean is magnificent.

Alone on the beach, watching my family play, I can feel His presence. I know His care, as He orchestrates every water molecule to ebb and flow and crash and recede. I know His care as He provides an open space for my children to run, fresh air for us all to inhale and exhale; bright sun to revive us and give us warmth.

Sometimes the bustle of the day distracts me from knowing His presence. Stress, fear, concerns, an abundance of tasks - they push their way in and I forget what truth David has said about God:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?”
Psalm 139:7

He is always present with those of us who believe. He never leaves us nor forsakes us (Heb. 13).

He knows our days and what they hold before we do. He is ever present through each of them. As I open cabinets to pull breakfast together, He is there. As I process recent events, He helps me through. As I load up our van with children and things, He is there. As I await news, make phone calls, freshen up garden beds, look over schoolwork - He is there. And He is there as I wash dishes and talk with my husband and retire to bed. From start to finish, and in between, He is here.

It’s not always a feeling, but it is always a fact.

What other god is ever with us? What other god could ever hold us as He does, comfort us as He does, lead us as He does? What other god can listen and understand? What other god can advise us on what to do, and how to do it? What other god sees our failures and still calls us His?

Only the one true God, the Lord. How merciful and kind He is!

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139