God is here, he meets us right where we are. We know this to be true. We may not think about it too often and it may not be something that stays in our minds, but we know that God is here.
John was on the Isle of Patmos in the Spirit on the Lord’s day when suddenly he was there. John was overtaken by the presence of God. Said, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet like dead.” Because the presence of God scares us, shakes us. Although we believe in God, although He is the desire of our hearts, although we have professed our faith in Him, we have become so used to life without His presence that when He appears suddenly, we cannot understand Him.
God’s presence is both our comfort and our fear. No one can feel the presence of God without fear. We adore him with reverence and awe, says the author of the letter to the Hebrews, because “our God is a consuming fire.” Fire is not something we play with, and yet it can be a comfort to us. God said to John: “Do not fear. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever.”
God doesn’t need us, but we desperately need him. We need to feel His presence in our lives. We may not admit it, but in the dark hours of our midnight, we cry out to God to make His presence known to us. We need the assurance of his love and mercy. We can wear “life is fine” masks at work. We can participate in theological or political debates with the best of them. But who can stop the spread of cancer? Who can prevent AIDS from wiping out a generation? Who can prevent suicides and mass murder? Who can protect children from the dangers of pedophiles or alleviate senseless tragedies? We need God.
Things were going well for Gamaliel Bradford, the esteemed writer who captured the optimism of his day. It had no use for religion and less for God. We read about his dismissal from God in his poem titled Come out of God:
Formerly the God of our father was real,
Something they almost saw
That kept them in a severe ideal
And it struck them into fear.
They walked the narrow path to the right
Very sincerely good,
Because they feared the eternal night
And seething depths of hell.
Now hell has completely evaporated
And God becomes a shadow.
There is no place for it to stay
In everyone who did.
Followers of William James
Still let the Lord exist
And call it with imposing names,
A venerable list.
But nerves and muscles only count
Gray matter of the brain
And an amazing amount
From uncomfortable pain.
Thus, the renowned biographer and scholar removes God from the scene of human existence. However, we feel a bit of his uncertainty reflected in the final lines of the poem:
Sometimes I wish God was back
In this wide and dark world;
Because although it lacks sonic virtues,
He had his nice side.
Later, Gamaliel went to war where he witnessed the horrors of human depravity. He encountered the madness of greed and corruption and the inhumanity of man towards man on a titanic scale. He resigned in utter despair. Having abandoned God, he now lost faith in himself and had nowhere to turn. He asked towards the end of his life: “Who will tell me anything about God? I know nothing about him at all. He is a mere name, a mere word to me, and yet he clings. Why?” John tells us something about God.
John is in exile, a homeless man, a stranger in a strange land. You are powerless, helpless, oppressed, you are denied human rights of any kind. Then he hears a voice from heaven crying out behind him: “Fear not. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and lo and behold, I am alive forever and ever! And I have the keys.” . of death and Hades. “And with John, we meet God.
When we know and feel the presence of God, things start to fit together again. His words comfort us, his power protects us, his promises take hold of us. The darkness that surrounds us is not the last word. Rome will fall, disease will end, tyranny will collapse, and God will be there. “Fear not. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and lo and behold, I am alive forever and ever! And I have the keys of death and Hades. Yes, when God is reveals to us it scares us, shakes us, shakes us, but also comforts and shelters us, that is what keeps us on the battlefield of life.
The book of Revelation reeks of battle. We hear trumpets and see smoke and flames. We feel the earth shake with the outbreak of war machines and we have heard the call to arms. We also have experience of God. We have felt his presence and protection in the struggles of our lives. We have rearranged our priorities and made a commitment to stand up and be counted as soldiers in His army. We have joined the fight. We have joined John and all the saints throughout the centuries to sing the battle march:
Go on, oh eternal King,
The day of the march has arrived;
From now on in fields of conquest
Your stores will be our home.
Through days of preparation
Your grace has made us strong;
And now, oh eternal King,
We raise our battle song.
Go on, oh eternal King,
Until the fierce war of sin ceases,
And holiness will whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
Why not with the strong clash of swords,
No drum roll;
With works of love and mercy
The celestial kingdom is coming.
Go on, oh eternal King,
We continue, not with fear,
Because joy breaks like the morning
Where your face appears.
Your cross was raised over us,
We travel in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Go ahead, oh God of power.