His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

A sentence I often hear on Monday morning following a Sunday worship service is, “He was there yesterday, wasn’t He?”

While this phrase is meant to convey that the worshiper felt the presence of God in a powerful way—perhaps more strongly than at other times—the words might be misconstrued to mean there are times when God isn’t there when we come together to worship Him.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

God’s presence is with believers, His children, at all times, no matter the circumstances.

I experienced this in a powerful way this past week when a neurosurgeon operated on my brain to treat a painful condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia. The surgery is called Microvascular Decompression.

As the nurse was helping me get ready to be wheeled into the operating room, she patted my shoulder and asked, “How are you doing?”

I said, “The Lord is with me. I’m doing fine.”

I wasn’t trying to be a good witness, project optimism, or display a false sense of peace. I knew the Lord was there—within me, beside me, before me, behind me—exactly as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:5: “You hem me in, behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.”

The Lord was there with the surgeon when he made the first cut, as he performed the delicate procedure on the nerve, and as the final suture was tied. Even if no one else in the operating room was a believer, the patient was God’s child, and she was clinging to her Father’s promise. “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8.

Today, I’m home and my recovery is going well—complete recovery can take from two to four months—and yes, I know He’s here with me, and He’ll be with me forever. Hebrews 13:5. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I can count on the promise of His continued presence with me because two thousand years ago, He was there for me, hanging on a cross, paying for my sins, so I could be with Him forever.

Trust Him. He was there for you too.  

Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”