God Is With You (Daily Refresh, 10-26-26)
Have you ever asked God, “Where are you?”
Some days it can feel like you’re walking alone through life. It can seem like God is not present or with you. Or maybe it feels like He has deserted you in a difficult time.
The nation of Israel experienced many moments like this. They cried out to God in the midst of pain and exile. They were honest in their prayers to God—they told Him exactly how they felt in the midst of hardship.
In turn, God spoke to them through the prophets. He spoke words of comfort and hope. He reminded them of His promises, and that His character never changes.
While it can sometimes seem like God deserts us, we know from His promises that He is always with us. Through life’s loneliest times or most difficult seasons, God is right next to us. He walks through every season of life by our side.
Not only is He with us, but He also promises to strengthen us and help us in times of difficulty. When we feel like we’ve run out of strength to continue, God will provide His strength for us.
God will provide the help we need to keep living in His will. He doesn’t promise to give us strength to do whatever we want, but rather—He gives us courage and empowerment to continue walking according to His plans for our life.
So, in seasons of hardship when we feel like we’ve run empty, we should lean into God’s promises and trust Him. We should trust that He will empower us and strengthen us for whatever we’re facing.
Take some time today to pray to God. If He feels distant, ask Him to be close to you. If you feel weak, ask Him to strengthen you. He promises to uphold you, so trust in His promises. Continue to build a relationship with God and seek His presence. As you do, you’ll find a renewed strength as you walk through life with Him.
My Thoughts
I’m not going to lie. I have been feeling discouraged and afraid lately. It just seems as though one thing after another has been going wrong. Congestive heart failure…okay, dealing with it, the restrictions and the fatigue I feel at times. Kidney disease…also dealing with it. I need enough water every day for my kidney but not so much that fluid builds more around my heart. Then, I started having difficulty swallowing. Mostly my pills, but sometimes I just choke on regular food. I saw a GI and they prescribed a barium swallow test that I am doing this Wednesday. My mind says “okay” but my spirit says, “Another test? What will it prove or end up doing for me?” I think seventy five is a good age, but I am tired of medical issues, tests that aren’t definitive or that have no real answer. There is no cure for CHF. There is no cure for a kidney that is failing. And I have been feeling a little hopeless about the whole dsyphagia thing too. Then God reminded me today in my devotional that I am not to fear. He hasn’t left me and He isn’t going to. Whatever tests the doctors recommend, I will submit to and then expect God to take care of me. Medical science is great but they didn’t make me the way I am and they cannot fix me. But God can. And He might. Or He might walk me through the valley, speaking words of encouragement to me all along the way.
Daisy, our cat, is improving slowly. She is still very ill and mostly stays on the spare bed, sleeping and waking up to eat and sometimes to go to the litter box. She only ventured out of the room once but went right back there again, I think it must feel like a safe space to her. When she first started feeling bad last week, she was hiding from us. Since she had never done that before, I knew something was wrong. She didn’t eat or drink for over two days, so we took her to the urgent care for pet place. After medication for her UTI with potassium for her weak heart, she has begun to stay awake longer and is more alert. She isn’t herself playful, annoying self yet, but I am hoping she will get there. It just seemed as though Daisy getting sick was the last straw, I was somewhat handling all of my medical issues but then Daisy got ill and I lost it. I told God that I just couldn’t take one more thing and His reply to me was that He was with me for all of the one more things I would need to go through. So, I released Daisy to His care and she started to improve.
Little sleep, lots of problems, but a God who is there in the middle of the night and during the long days, too. I want everything to work out and get better. I know my husband is exhausted from taking me to specialists every week. Today I see my pulmonologist, for example, since my heart problem started with my lungs. I don’t know if it’s possible for things to get better, but I know that even if they don’t God will be there, holding on to me as I hold on to Him. He has a plan and He is working it. I just pray that I don’t hinder His plan for me.
