Nothing But God

"The LORD replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"  -Exodus 33:14

On September 9, 1902 missionary Lilias Trotter wrote:

Trained faith is a triumphant gladness in having nothing but God--not rest, no foothold--nothing but Himself.  A triumphant gladness in swinging out into the abyss, rejoicing in every fresh emergency that is going to prove Him true.  'The Lord alone'--that is trained faith."

Lilias's words, "rejoicing in every fresh emergency that is going to prove Him true," hold extra meaning for me this morning.  Yesterday, on our way home from visiting our grandchildren, we took a different route because of the traffic back up.  As we entered an intersection after waiting for the light to turn green, we narrowly avoided being broad-sided by a car running the red light.

In her blog, Reflections on the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter, Miriam Rockness shares Lilias's quote and writes about her experience of being in the path of Hurricane Maria:  "It's courage I need.  And for courage I pray: for the facing of the hours ahead.  There is no way around it: I must pass through it.  Whatever that means.  As to promises?  There are no guarantees of outcome.  But there is, in Scripture, the repeated promise of God's Presence."

Like Lilias, Miriam realized that the awareness of God's Presence was all she needed and that it could only be acquired through faith. For me our emergency yesterday proved Him true even when I was not aware of impending danger until after the fact.  How many times are we saved from something and never know about it?  Trusting God with our lives should come with each breath we take.  Only then shall we find rest.

I am grateful that God's Presence is with me wherever I am.