Warning: This post contains a brief mention of suicide.
Coming to know that God is always with me has been a key part of my spiritual formation. In my first 51 years on earth God always seems distant, if he seemed to be there at all. That was despite believing him and being saved by him for 30 years. Only recently have I come to know, deep down inside me, inside my heart, inside my bones, that God is always with me, always caring about me, always loving me.
The main scripture I base this belief on is Psalm 16:8: I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (NLT) Seems pretty straightforward. God is right beside me. But what does that mean? You may have to develop what that means to you for your self. For me, it means that God is with me in much the same sense as a person being with me. God has the same awareness of me and things going on around and with me as would a human who is there with me. And I can interact with God in (mostly) the same way I could with another human. I can even hold his hand (see Take a Walk With Jesus below). That means God knows everything that’s going on with me – in a good way. He knows when I’m in pain and he cares for me as any human friend would if they were with me. He knows when I’m feeling good and being joyful, and he enjoys life right along with me. He’s there with me when I’m sinning – but not as a judge to condemn me, as my friend to love and help me – and pray for me (see Remember Jesus With You In the Past below).
To me God being with me goes hand in hand with God being my friend. It’s my friends who are “with me” the most. Understanding God as being with me helps me to understand him as my friend, which helps me to understand his love for me – another challenging thing for much of my life. Coming to this understanding didn’t happen over night. I had to choose to regularly seek God, spending time with, doing what I could to understand him. But mainly I think I just had to be open to what he wanted to do. The scripture, songs, and activities I list below helped me to put myself before God, but it’s God in his grace that brought about the change in my understanding of him. Allow him to work in you, in his time and in his way. He knows what you need far more than you ever will.
Scripture To Read and Contemplate
Spiritual Disciplines Index: The With-God Life – Renovaré
I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (NLT)
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. … (NLT)
Psalm 37:23-24 – NLT • NIV • KJV
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. (NLT)
Hebrews 13:9 – NLT • NIV • KJV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NLT)
Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent (NLT)
Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring. (NLT)
Things to Do In Your God Time
Visualize Psalm 23
You can do this while seated inside, but I especially like to do this outside when walking in the park. In your mind go through each subsection of each verse in Psalm 23. Picture it in your mind. Each one involves you and Jesus. Think about and see in your mind what both you and Jesus would be doing in each bit of the psalm. Spend time on the parts that mean the most to you. My favorite part is Jesus preparing a meal to f0r us to eat together, at the same table, while my enemies (my fears and doubts) watch but are powerless to do anything because Jesus is there with me. Be creative in how you envision different parts. I like to see the anointing my head with oil as Jesus combing my hair when I’m a mess.
Take your time and don’t rush. This can be something you do once, or regularly. For about a month I did it every day when I walked in the park at lunchtime. It made that park a very special place. If you go walking while you do this, see the next activity below.
Thank you to my friend Julia Flower for inspiring me with this activity.
Take a Walk With Jesus
We’ve all heard of the prayer walk. This is like that – but more. While you’re out walking (I love a nice park or woods), envision Jesus walking next to you (Psalm 16:8), as your friend. See him next to you. Talk to him. Ideally out loud if you have the courage. Call him by his name, Jesus. Call him “friend”, because he says you are friends. Listen to him. Yes listening to God is hard, so don’t sweat it here. Just give him some time in between when you’re talking, just like you would with your other friends. Spend some time in silence, just the two of you walking together. Now here’s what might be the hardest part for some: hold his hand. Put your hand out a little bit from your side, as though you were going to hold a friend’s hand. Close your fingers like you were clasping that hand. Walk like that, with Jesus, hand in hand. Think about, talk about, how he loves you and the joy that he gets from walking with you, hand-in-hand.
Two Chairs
This is similar to taking a walk with Jesus, but more indoor oriented. Place a chair opposite you and imagine Jesus sitting in it. Have your God time with him there. When you pray, pray to him in that chair. Try to talk to him as you would any other friend.
Remember Jesus With You In the Past
Take some time to think of keys memories in your life. Maybe start with just good memories and work your way up to bad memories, but I think the bad memories are the best ones in the end for this. For each of those memories, bring it up in your mind. Visualize yourself there as you were at that time. Then picture Jesus there with you. Now, the you in the memory and everyone else in the memory cannot see Jesus, like you couldn’t see him back then. But he’s doing something there. What is he doing, there with his friend he loves? Sitting next to you laughing and smiling at the fun you are having. Kneeling next to you praying for you as you feel the pain of something bad, something difficult. Remember the Jesus that was there with at that time, because he was there, even if you didn’t know him as your savior yet. Crying is OK. In fact, it’s probably going to happen.
This was a very powerful exercise for me, and probably the one that did the most to cement the idea of God’s love and presence for me. I pictured him next to be in bed, during my suicide attempt when I was young. The thought of Him curled up next to me in bed, holding me, praying me through it – I can’t describe it.
Music To Listen To
God Is With Me – Playlist
Better Than I Do – Benjamin Krogh
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube Music • Deezer
You Call I’ll Answer – David Leonard
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube Music • Deezer
Every Hour – David Leonard
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube Music • Deezer
Always With Us – Andrew Osenga
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube Music
Faithful (Acoustic) – Eric Nieder
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube Music • Deezer
Books to Read
Hearing God by Dallas Willard
Good overview on the Dallas Willard Ministries website
42 page preview on Google Books
Amos 5:6 
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