Notes of Faith September 23, 2025
God’s Presence
My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
Exodus 33:14
During a period of revival, Jonathan Edwards wrote, “After retiring to rest and sleeping a little while, I awoke and had a very lively consciousness of God’s being near me…. I lay awake most of the night, with a constant delightful sense of God’s great love and infinite condescension, and with a continual view of God as near, and as my God.”
How we need a revival of the sense of God’s presence! In Genesis, Joseph was conscious of God in every experience that he had and in everything that he did. He made God central to every part of his life and gave credit to God for all that happened.
We may not have a constant emotional sense of God’s nearness, but He is near, nonetheless. He goes with us. God walks with us through each day and is involved in our lives too. As you navigate today, whisper prayers for wisdom, asking God to guide every step and direct every decision. Practice His presence, and even when you awaken at night, remember how near He is to you.
The glory of God seemed to overcome me and swallow me up, and every conceivable suffering…seemed to shrink to nothing before it.
Jonathan Edwards
https://youtu.be/x2B1GAVnty8
I recorded this, singing all four parts, at GT Studios, with the master Bill Wells, a dear friend and fellow follower of Jesus. The above is not my recording, which I would have shared, but it is in California and I am in Kentucky at the moment. The lyrics of the song are not Scripture, but the truth they hold is dear to me.
Near to the Heart of God
1. There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
(Refrain)
2. There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.
(Refrain)
3. There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.
(Refrain)
Refrain:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.
God is always near even when we do not know He is there. You are deeply loved. May you experience the nearness and presence of God today.
Pastor Dale