The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3.

We had such a good meeting this morning in our Friday morning prayer group on Zoom. There is something uplifting about meeting with people whose hearts long for closeness with our Creator God. Surely the Lord was in this place, and I wasn’t aware of it. Genesis 28:16. That was one of the Scripture verses given that so beautifully expressed our need to engage in practices that open our hearts to God’s presence with us. Mindfulness/Attentiveness > Present moment with God-living. Meditation > hearing God’s voice in the quiet of sacred time with Him. God was present…did we know?

The verses cited above that I read in my own study after our prayer meeting apply when reading our chapter, Nehemiah 1. They also apply to us today. Nehemiah, the cup bearer to the king Artaxerxes of the Medo-Persian empire, had asked his brothers who had come from Jerusalem how things were going for the remnant and for Jerusalem. When he found out the wall was still broken down, the gates still having been burned and left, (70 years after the temple was rebuilt), v. 1-3, Nehemiah wept. He mourned, fasted and then prayed. He acknowledged the wrongs that had been done that led to the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem. He remembered in prayer, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name. v. 9. And then he asked for success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. v. 11. I love this Book. I love the ability God gave to Nehemiah to see a problem, take it to God in prayer and with God use those abilities to effect change not only in the rebuilding of the wall surrounding Jerusalem, but to encourage others hearts while they sought to follow God. He knew how to organize and lead and how to trust God for everything.

How do the above verses apply to us today? God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). God gives us understanding. God’s love and care is our strength and hope. He loves us and draws us to Him with patience knowing how distracted we are by this life we live. The Book of Life is open to us. God – Father, Son, Spirit – created Life and we are part of that and it is good. Listen carefully…God’s love tells you…you are loved, you are needed, you are Mine. When you hear God affirming His love for you, what a gift! You matter. There have always been trials in this life and for many they end in death. There has always been love and joy given and received by people, ordinary people created in God’s own image. We may not understand all that we see and experience good and bad but our Creator God does understand and has made a way for us to be comforted, strengthened, loved, cherished – and that way is Him. God is present. Do you notice? Do you want to?