With.

This very simple word has had a profound impact in my life the past few months.

After listening to a Mars Hill podcast (Skye Jethani was the guest speaker) late last summer, I was challenged in the way that I view my relationship with God. With us. The story of God being “with” begins even before an “us” was around. God lived in communion with Himself (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). So I hope you're encouraged as you take a look at how God has always been and still is with us.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
John 1:1-2

God was with Adam and Eve in the garden.
Genesis 2:15-23

God promises Abraham that He will be with him and bless all nations through him.
Genesis 12:1-3

Moses asks God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God’s response is, “I will be with you…”
Exodus 3:10-12

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Joshua 1:5

David is anointed with oil from Samuel and the Spirit of the LORD comes down on him… later a servant recognizes this fact and says, “And the LORD is with him.”
1 Samuel 16:13;18

Jeremiah is called by God and declares, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”
Jeremiah 1:4-7

The presence of God breaks into the world through Jesus… God with us, Immanuel. And then as Jesus prepares to leave he assures us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 1:23, 28:19-20

What does life WITH God really mean? How does it change us when we take that to make it our primary posture towards God?


Acts 16:25-40 (background- Paul and Silas had been going around causing trouble. They are both arrested, beaten and chained to the wall, awaiting whatever is going to happen in the morning)

1. IT CHANGES THE WAY WE SEE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
a. Paul and Silas understood that the Christian life isn’t about changing your circumstances so that you can better experience Christ… they realized it’s about changing how you see your circumstances and come to realize that Christ is right there WITH you.

b. If I could just get in that right relationship, if I could just get married and have kids, if I could just get out of this terrible relationship, if I could just get out of this job and my dead end career, if I could do something that really matters, if I could go overseas because God is just kind of bored with America, if I could just get out of this church---if I could go somewhere more exciting and vibrant THEN we will experience the fullness of God.

c. 1 Corinthians 7:24 “So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain WITH God.” Live as you were called. So if you are called to do something else, great! But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that by changing your circumstances you’ll experience the Christian life more fully. We seem to orchestrate our lives to do more and more things that matter to God.

d. If nothing changed in your life… do you believe you could still experience the fullness of God, right where you are? There was monk in the 17th century named Brother Lawrence and his letters were called Practicing the Presence of God. His work was primarily working in a kitchen and he stated that “It is a great delusion that certain stages in life or certain circumstances are more holy than others.”

e. “Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."
Hosea 6:8

f. “There truly is no division between sacred and secular except what we have created. And that is why the division of the legitimate roles and functions of human life into the sacred and secular does incalculable damage to our individual lives and the cause of Christ. Holy people must stop going into ‘church work’ as their natural course of action and take up holy orders in farming, industry, law, education, banking, and journalism with the same zeal previously given to evangelism or to pastoral and missionary work.”
-Dallas Willard

2. IT CHANGES THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES.
a. The older brother: “All these years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.” -Luke 15:29

b. The father: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” -Luke 15:31

c. What you do WITH God is more important than a “sacred” occupation if it is done WITHOUT God.

Matthew 7:21-23 (end of the Sermon on the Mount)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

d. What matters most can never be seen…it’s the communion of Christ in you, the mingling of you and God.

Go and listen to the full podcast here.

This been the single most important revelation for me in this past season of life. It's how I'm even dating Audrey right now. God was with me and I took a risk (Much more to the story, which involves air conditioning and poop, so ask me). It's a great reminder, satisfied or not with where I am or what I am doing that God is here. I want to keep this in mind in every aspect of my life... and lately that has meant art + design. Good art takes risks. It makes me ask the question, "why are you making art?" Are you doing it for God, for someone else? No. My hope is that I do it with God, even if it's something that other people don't like. So maybe you'll see some questionable art up on my blog soon. But really, it won't be questionable to me. Peace.