“I am with you always”

Posted by laurieetta on July 13, 2026 in Being Human | Leave a comment

[Jesus said,] “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:20

It seems to me people go around with their pockets ringing, vibrating, and singing. The pocket, of course, is where almost everyone keeps their cell phone. And there doesn’t seem to be a moment when someone isn’t checking a text message, sending a picture, scrolling through the news, or doing one of the many things that little hand-held computer called a phone can do.

I was listening to a radio show the other day and the expert was talking about how, because of technology today, we almost always have another person in the room with us. Between texting, messaging, and social media, there is this ever-present “other” in our midst that was not there in the past.

He went on to talk about how this “other” in the room affects our relationships with the people who are physically sitting right in front of us.

As he talked about the “other” in the room, my mind didn’t go to phones or people. My mind went to God.

I love to think of Jesus sitting beside me in my office, riding with me in my car, sitting across the table during dinner. If it’s a bad day, he has his arm around my shoulders. If I’m worried, he reminds me that I’m not carrying things alone. If I’m celebrating, he celebrates with me. If I do something foolish (which has been known to happen), he doesn’t walk away. He stays. Jesus promised exactly that: “I am with you always.”

That is one of the great promises of Scripture. God is not distant, occasionally checking in on us. He is not watching from far away, waiting for us to figure life out on our own. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. He led Israel through the wilderness. He came to us in Jesus, who was called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

The amazing promise is not simply that we can reach out to God when we need him. It’s that God is already here. In every ordinary moment — at work, at home, in the car, at the dinner table, on the good days and the hard ones — we have an ever-present “other” with us.

Being Human connection: And unlike our phones, we don’t have to worry about losing the connection.

Regarding the art, Henry Ossawa Tanner painted this picture of Christ. He comes across to me as a wonderful quiet presence. Tanner’s Jesus is not distant or overly majestic. It just feels like Christ has stepped quietly into our world and simply is there. What a gift!

Featured art: The Savior, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1900-1905