Is God always with me?

What does it really mean for God to be with you?

Scripture says that God is always present.

Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”

But Scripture also says multiple times that God will never leave us or forsake us.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Hebrews 13:5 reminds us of this: ‘…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” 

This line is echoing God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 to never leave or forsake his people.

In that sense, God isn’t just present, he’s also with those who follow Jesus.

In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “fear not, for I am with you.”

Joshua 1:9 says, “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Psalm 23:4 says, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us that we are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in us. 

Dwelling involves a conscious choice to not just be present but to also to be committed to the wellbeing of the home.

There’s a big difference between being present with someone and being with someone.

Being present is a matter of logistics. It involves putting yourself in the same space as someone else. God is present with everyone.

Being with someone, on the other hand, is a matter of the heart and will. It’s a conscious choice to align with someone not just physically but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Many parents are physically present with their kids but not emotionally with them.

Sometimes, as children of God, we can find ourselves believing the same about God:

We know that God will never leave us in the sense that he will always be present; we’re just not sure that he’s with us.

You can’t go anywhere God isn’t.

But then there’s another piece of God‘s character. 

He’s on your side, wishing and willing your good in all circumstances.

It’s often very difficult to see God as someone who’s rooting for us to win and willing it to be so in every moment.

Seeing that the God of the universe is truly on your side no matter how good or bad you are gives you confidence to do the good work he’s put in front of you. 

He’s not waiting for you to get your act together. 

He’s waiting for you to realize that he wants to call your heart his home. 

And he knows, of course, that once you open your heart to him, then the right actions will flow from that naturally.

When our actions start flowing from our understanding that God is actually with us and not just around us, then the goodness we’ve been chasing starts following us instead.