The Presence of God

BY Kara Gause

Book V
Book V is an invitation to exuberant praise; it is worship in light of God’s covenant love, His Word, and the reminder that His promise of David’s neverending throne would be fulfilled in the Messiah.

“If God is in the room with us—and He always is…”

My girls have heard me utter those words countless times to remind them that God is good, and He is always present because He wants to be (John 15:4–11). I need the reminder too. If I pause to contemplate God’s constant nearness, my reaction alerts me to the distance I’ve unknowingly put between us. It’s a sobering exercise that reveals how I’ve been living life self-sufficiently, despite knowing that apart from Him, life is meaningless (Psalm 16:2). 

Yet, God’s presence offers far more than a sense of peace; He is our protector and provider against the hardship we will inevitably face here on earth (John 16:33). 

Solomon tells us, “Unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain” (Psalm 127:1). I know I’ve spent day after day working to survive in my strength, getting up early and staying up late, while God offers protection, provision, and rest for those who turn to Him (v.2). Life apart from the One who creates and sustains it leads to emptiness and despair. Still, I attempt to fill my void with work and busyness, but why? Am I seeking approval, security, and identity? Whatever promised land I’m seeking out is pointless unless God is there with me (Exodus 33:15–16). 

The writer of Psalm 121 tells us all our efforts are futile. The “Maker of heaven and earth,” who “does not slumber or sleep,” already guards and protects our lives as our eyes are fixed on Him (Psalm 121:2–4). In doing so, we submit to His ways and His leading rather than our own, setting our pointless self-sufficiency aside. When we rely on the Lord and follow His lead, He protects our days, “[our] coming and going both now and forever” (vv.7–8).

The favor and esteem I hustle so hard to conjure up in the eyes of others seeking the very same thing—He offers those, too, simply through proximity to His presence. The protection I try to secure by the works of my own hands can be laid down because the truest fortune I will ever know is being restored by His presence (Psalm 126:1–4). The shelter and refuge I seek when trouble comes is found when I remember that my strength is admitting my weakness, resting in the shelter His presence provides both day and night (Psalm 121:5–6).

God knows what we need long before we’re aware of it. Pain, disappointment, and failure will surely come to us as we live life under the sun. His presence is a balm for that, too: for “those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy” because of Him (Psalm 126:5). He waits for us. If only we will humble ourselves and turn to meet the eyes of the God who is always in the room with us.