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A fun, but long day with the grandkids, a one more kiss and two more hugs parting, and then off in the car for the two and a half hour drive home. It was about 6:30pm and starting to sprinkle. Within an hour, the sky had darkened due to the coming rainstorm. The drizzle soon became a downpour.

The vehicle in front of me was continually changing speeds, slowing down and speeding up erratically. The rain wasn’t coming down as hard, so I decided to move away from this driver. Looking behind me, all I saw in the left lane was wet pavement and rain; in my lane, water was rising off the road from the cars farther back. All clear.

I began to swerve over to the other lane to pass, looked to my side—and suddenly saw a very low, sleek black sports car a few inches from the bottom of my window, right next to me. Swerving quickly back to the lane I started from, I avoided a crash, while the other vehicle sped ahead, the water from the road gushing up behind its black body with no visible eyes. The driver never had his lights on, and he did not put them on as he moved forward, a blur of water rising off the road, merging with the coming darkness.

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Moments like these make us more aware of God-Presence. It seemed surreal to look over my left shoulder and see that vehicle so close to me. Yet, even while sensing the danger and making the instinctual move to swerve back, there was this other sense happening, the God-Sense. He was there, the barrier of protection I didn’t see but felt. Even after, He was there, calming my heartbeat, my anxiety, my “what if” thoughts. I drove on—in the right lane.

Can we possibly recall all the times when the “what if” could have happened—but didn’t?  Was it God-Presence there with us? What about the times when the “what if” did happen? Did we perceive the unseen “Sixth Sense” during these occurrences?  John tells us, “God is Spirit…” (John 44:24)

 God-Presence was promised to Moses and the Israelites:

 “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

God-Presence is promised to us as we come together in His Name:

For where two or And He said, three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

God-Presence is present with us everywhere:

²³ “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off?
²⁴ Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

God-Presence is with us through life and death:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

God-Presence cannot be circumvented, avoided, or evaded:

David asks these questions of the Lord regarding His presence, fully knowing the answers: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

Praise God for His Presence in our lives– in moments when we are not fully aware, in times when we earnestly seek Him in prayer, and during the “what ifs” when we truly despair. We are in need of His Presence daily in our lives to give us wisdom, strength, courage, and instinct to confront the “black vehicles” that come so very close to our paths, attempting to draw us into the darkness. God’s Light delivers us and sustains us more often than we  will ever know.

     Thank you, Lord, for Your ever-abiding Presence in our lives. Amen.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 07/10/16) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word