God Is There
As we journey through the first half of the Season after Pentecost, we travel with the characters of some of the oldest biblicalstories – Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob, Leah, and Rachel; Joseph and his brothers; and finally the women who helped save Moses from Pharaoh. Throughout these characters’ journeys – both spiritual and physical – God is there.
The passages of this season invite us, and at times
challenge us, to see how God is working and moving in
them, and how God continues to work and move among
us today. There are times in our own lives when we
experience the beauty and joy of God’s creation one day
and the deception of those closest to us the next. We know
too well the fear of the disciples (Matthew 10:24–39) and
want to enjoy and spread Jesus’ idea of welcome (Matthew
10:40–42). We are called, continually, to be God’s generous,
liberating, inclusive love.
Sometimes in life it’s difficult to know that God is with
us. We might struggle to see, hear, touch, or feel God’s
presence. The assurance and hope found in the stories of
Pentecost 1 remind us that from splendour to suffering,
disagreement to deception, God is there. The whole of the
human experience is familiar to God; and God’s presence,
even in the darkest of hours, gives hope.
■■ Where or with whom is it most easy for you to
encounter God’s presence?
■■ What moments in your own life have challenged you
to know God’s presence?
■■ In what ways might we, individually and as church,
show others how God is present in our lives – even in
times of despair?
Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFusion Pentecost 1 2017 Copyright © Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2016, p. 6
