Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Psalm 139: 7-12
7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night’,
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 23: 6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
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[/one_half][one_fourth_last][/one_fourth_last]Many years ago we were visiting Madrid and saw a small stone set into the ground in the main square. It’s called Kilometre Zero and it’s the starting point for measuring not just the distances of the country’s six national roads, but Madrid’s numbered streets; the closer to the Km 0 mark, the lower the street number. These traditional markers are found in many countries, often located in the capital city, the most famous being the Milliarium Aureum, the “Golden Milestone” in Ancient Rome, believed to be the source of the saying “all roads lead to Rome’. I haven’t yet tracked down the equivalent stone In London, but I remember how avidly we looking out for milestones on childhood journeys.
Isn’t it wonderful to realise that when God is our starting point, our Kilometre Zero as it were, we can never get lost. There’s a hymn we sang when I was a child in which all the verses begin with the words ‘God is always near me’. Indeed God is wherever we are. However far we may think we have distanced ourselves from him, by sin perhaps or by neglect, that Km 0 never changes, it always remains at Zero, we have only to turn round and God is there beside us.
The well-known verses from the two psalms above express that thought beautifully and there are so many more verses about God’s closeness to us, including a lovely verse in the letter of James, ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you’. (James 4:8) .
Best of all, one of the last things that Jesus said to his disciples was “Remember, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt.28:20). No promise could be greater than that.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You don’t promise that we will be spared pain and illness, hardships and pandemics – but you do promise that you will always be with us.
To know that you are alongside us whatever is happening in our lives, giving us strength and courage, is all we really need.
We know that we are precious in your sight and greatly loved by you.
We need fear nothing because you are always with us.
For this great gift we give you thanks and praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection & Prayer © 2020 Ann Caffyn.
Image freely available online.
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