I Am With You
Monday morning and the memory of wonderful summer of holidays, festivals and even a surprising heat wave are gradually fading. The team and I sit down to begin a new way of doing our working week this September by opening up the bible together to kick the week off.
Feeling a little tired, aware of a growing to-do list and other demands on our time we made the choice to hit the pause button and put first things first. It seemed only right that we turned to the pages of Haggai as the centre of our theme for our conference in Scotland at the end of the month. So as phones were put away, boxes left unsorted and emails unanswered we made the decision to listen to the voice of the One we do all this for anyway.
As we began to explore the first chapter of Haggai I was once again struck by 4 words which could easily appear on a nice comforting card or perfectly filtered Instagram post. Words which we read over so quickly or can treat like a good luck charm as we rush about our day.
‘I am with you’.
Sat on the edge of a busy week, it was a reminder of where I get my strength from, my motivation, my drive and focus. But it was also a challenge - do I believe it? If I believe it, do I act like it? Do I believe that the ‘Lord Of Heavens Armies’ (Haggai 1:2 NLT) is with me as my mind spins with conversations or concerns? Do I believe the one who threw the stars into space is right there as I face the decisions, the challenges and trials that await around the corner?
The challenge hit in that moment as I sat with my team and the words rested on my heart. It was time to lift my eyes to the One who makes this promise.
If I was climbing up a cliff edge and my equally afraid, equally untrained friend was next to me telling me 'I am with you, don’t worry you can do this', well - I would be grateful of the sentiment but not entirely sure how much good it would do me! If I was on that same cliff edge with Bear Grylls next to me saying ‘I am with you, you can do this!’ then I think I would feel a little happier about how that adventure might end!
As the team and I face this new academic year with all that lies ahead it is time for us to start from the secure position of who is it is that does this adventure with us. The Living God is the one who promises us today in September 2018 that He is with us. That changes everything! Its just the beginning, come and join us in Scotland to see the ripple effects of this promise in every part of our lives.