He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17
“My starting point is that we’re already there. We cannot attain the presenve of God because we’re already totally in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. Little do we realize that God is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. As we take another it means that God is choosing us now and now and now. We have nothing to attain or earn.”
Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs, as recounted by Jim Branch in The Blue Book: A Devotional Guide for Every Season of Your Life (Middletown, DE, 2020) 213.
I woke up just before my alarm. It was sunrise here in Maputo, Mozambique. I sensed the presence of Christ with me. Then I read this post in this book I brought with me on the trip. What a profound idea. “Christ is with me.” But somehow by grace I became fully aware of it in my small room.
This realization gave me a sense of comfort. It reminded me that the trip is going good because He is good. And the cool part is, as we approach Christmas, He is God with us, Immanuel. May that awareness fill you with comfort and peace and take shape as gift to give others.
Remind everyone you know that the Christ of Christmas is God with us. We are not alone in crazy times. So I head off for an all day seminar with influential pastors and ministry workers knowing that Christ is with me. And I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. So can you!