He Is Always There

When I was growing up, there were times when I wasn’t sure that God was listening. Was He there? Was He hearing my prayers? Even if I wasn’t sure, I still prayed, still went to church, still believed what I was learning in the services and Bible classes, still believed that He was (and is) truly present in Holy Communion—His Body and Blood—and now and then, I did see that yes, He was there and yes, He was answering my prayers. He even answered in ways I never could have thought to ask. I’m betting you experience these sorts of feelings as well.

Now that I am grown up, I’ve learned to look back and see how God has worked in my life, even when I wasn’t aware that He was doing so. In fact, since my husband and I have been married, God has blessed us so many times, including in ways that we didn’t know we needed. Here are just a couple of examples from our life together:

My husband and I always wanted to have a family, but we had not yet had a child during the first nine years of our marriage. We had been living in Kansas when my husband was offered a job in Arizona. All we knew was that it would be a great opportunity for him to grow and advance that he wouldn’t have had in Kansas. We didn’t realize at the time that there was a very good doctor here in Arizona who would be able to help us get our family started. Thus, our prayer for a family was answered in our move to Arizona. Our beautiful baby boy was born just after our 10 th anniversary, and we couldn’t have been happier. We didn’t know then how much he would bless our lives with his smile, his joy, his wit and imagination.

We also had no way of knowing that our son would be diagnosed with autism. Perhaps you’ve seen that term all over social media but might not really know what it’s about. Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the neurological function of the brain in the areas of language and the ability to communicate, social skills, behavior, and how the brain processes sensory information. When you dream about having a child, you imagine life being as perfect as it could possibly be. You imagine your child being the star of his class, all the conversations you’ll have as he starts talking and growing up, wondering about how you’ll react when, as a teenager, he will start dating…You don’t think about your child, this perfect gift from God, having a developmental disability like autism. And when you find out, your hopes and dreams may start to crumble. But God has taken care of that for us, too. As it turns out, Arizona has some of the best resources in the country for families who are affected by autism. Apparently, families come from all over just because they can get help here that doesn’t exist elsewhere. This was yet another blessing that God bestowed on us without our asking. God worked it out so that we ended up moving to the very best place we could be, two years before our son was born.

These events—our move 1,000 miles away from my family and discovering that our son has an Autism Spectrum Disorder—have been some of the most difficult we have had to endure. But at the same time, we realize that God has been with us and has blessed us even as we have struggled.

The point is, that difficult situation you find yourself in may have a purpose that you can’t see yet. That doesn’t mean that right now it isn’t overwhelming and I’m not going to say that you’ll always find a blessing at the end of it, but you might. If you look at your struggles as something that could have a blessing attached, even if you can’t see it at the time, it might bring you comfort. Regardless, in all things, try to keep the line of communication with God open. He is listening, and He is taking care of you all the time. He is there.

God tells us to look for Him where He is found, namely in the comforting words of the Bible, in the preaching of the Word at your church, in the Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and especially in your Baptism. He can see every tear that falls from your eyes when life is just too much to handle, and all the joy that fills your heart when something goes right. He will never leave you. Pray to Him. Lean on His Son, who understands your pain—not just when you feel like your life is in shambles, but also when you’re joyful. Talk to Him, listen to His Word, partake in His Supper. He has a plan for you and those in your life that only He knows. Trust Him.

These two examples have been wonderful things in our lives showing us how the Lord has been working, even when we felt abandoned. You might be able to look back over your life and find similar blessings. However, here is the great catch! Whether we can look back in our lives and see the Lord working or whether we cannot, we have the sure confidence that the Lord works in our lives every single time that we hear His Word and receive the blessed Sacraments! Truly, we taste and hear and see the forgiveness of sins in the Word and Sacraments. So, whether or not we can see the Lord working in our circumstances, we can KNOW that He is always working to deliver us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Erica M. Olson lives in Mesa, Arizona with her husband and son. She is a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.