Probably the most comforting promise of both Old and New Testaments is that God is always with us. "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" Josh. 1:9 was the assurance given Joshua. And Jesus, voicing the Christ, or continuing divine message to mankind, reassured his disciples, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20
In fact, Jesus taught that God's reign, or kingdom, is at hand—within each of us. So our prayer is not that God should come or abide, but that we be awakened to the divine omnipresence.
Can we conclude, then, that even in the midst of our most difficult challenges, at the point of our greatest need, God is right at hand? Yes, we can. We can affirm that right where loss, harm, pain, desperate sorrow or regret seems to be, right there infinite good is. In the very face of discord is harmony. Right where any lie seems to be is the truth that corrects it. Not that God is present in addition to the problem but instead of the problem.
