CURRENT THEME: New hope for 2013 (Share your feedback with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or share your testimony at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Day 18: New hope ... knowing that God is omnipresent

By Benescke Janse van Rensburg

Have you ever gone through a season in your life in which it felt as if you are thrown into a shark tank filled with sharks but with no cage to protect you? Or maybe as if you are walking into a battlefield without any ammunition or armor to protect you? Or worse; if you are falling to the ground at a rapid speed without a parachute to break your fall?

None of us is exempt from obstacles crossing our paths. What we can know is that God is omnipresent in every situation. Therefore, when it feels as if sharks in your workplace or in the business world want to devour you, you can rest assured that God places a cage of protection around you. Amidst the rage of a battlefield in the form of a financial crisis or an illness, know that He protects us from all sides, so that no fatal bullets will hit us. And when it feels as if we’re falling to the ground because a marriage is breaking down or a relationship with a child is problematic, He not only gives us a parachute to break the fall; He lifts us up to heights in our relationships that we have never experienced before.

God's Word promises that He is behind us, before us, beside us, above us and below us:

GOD IS BEHIND US:
• Isaiah 30:21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

GOD GOES BEFORE US:
• Proverbs 3:6: "Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

GOD IS BESIDE US:
• Psalm 91:4,7: “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”

GOD IS ABOVE US:
• Psalm 33:13-15: “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.  From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.  He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.”

GOD LIFTS US FROM BENEATH:
• Isaiah 40:31: “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

God is omnipresent. He knows what lies in our past and still loves us. He knows what He plans for our future so we can trust Him to lead us. He is beside us to protect us from any dangerous enemy. He is above us and can see you reading this piece, and He lifts us from beneath to new heights when we are about to give up hope. May you experience His presence today! God bless.

Father God, thank you for being omnipresent in my life. Help me to never lose hope when obstacles cross my path, but rather to remind myself that You are only a prayer away. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

** Benescke Janse van Rensburg is a radio DJ, freelance journalist and author of the books, Ontdek God in die stories van mense, Wysheid-oordenkings uit Spreuke and Hoop in tye van nood-oordenkings uit Psalms. For more information, visit her website at www.benescke.co.za