This week, I have been in three distinct cultures: Northern Virginia, Coastal North Carolina, and St. Paul, MN. I have talked with congregation members, people in life-and-death circumstances, a woman living in her car, and people with overwhelming utility bills. I have gone from living in our own comfortable, climate-controlled home to living out of a suitcase to staying in a very un-climate-controlled dorm room. Yesterday, I enjoyed perhaps the best Southern fried catfish I’ve ever had. Today, I’m eating pickled herring out of a plastic container. Sunday morning, I opted not to go to church – the first time I’ve not been in a very long time. It felt weird, but it was good to see what people do on a Sunday morning in St. Paul (the picture at the bottom of this page is from my seat with a cuppa coffee and my Kindle).

Is God in all of these places with all of these people?

One of the toughest funerals I led was of a young woman who was not baptized and committed suicide. For some Christians, the conclusion for this young woman’s life was clear. As I stood before her family and friends, many of whom were not “church goers”, I was faced with proclaiming both truth and comfort. I was faced with the question “Is God here even in this?” In that moment, what is it God would have me say to this grieving family? Would God want me to proclaim judgement and affirm what they must already have felt – that God was very far away from them? My sermon dwelt heavily on Romans 8: nothing else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This Week

As you read and pray this week, look for where God is. If we agree that God is in the lives of all of the people I’ve mentioned so far, then God is certainly in your life, too. Sometimes it is hard for us to see or acknowledge God in our own lives. As fantastic as God’s presence is, it also can be a bit scary. As you read 1 Kings, you’ll be reminded that God isn’t only present in the huge ways of burning bushes and declarations from angels.

I’d love to know where you see God around you this week! You will encourage me by your own witness! Feel free to shoot me an email or post a comment.

• 1 Kings 19:9-13
• Romans 8:31-35, 37-39