Pop quiz! What word in the English language is defined as... 1) Being accompanied by, 2) Being characterized by having, or 3) Using or showing? It is such a small word that it flows out of our mouths every day without much notice. Although it is small and seems insignificant, the word I am describing really effects many areas of our lives. Have you figured it out? The word is 'with'.

Let me explain how this word has such a big effect on our lives. You live 'with' people, you eat 'with' utensils, you are in love 'with' someone, children play 'with' their toys, and you pay 'with' money. Without the things this wonderful word includes, our lives would be far more difficult and lonely. It infiltrates every area and every moment of our lives...just like God wants to.

The things and people that accompany the word "with" as I described above do not fade in and out of your life based on feelings or situations. If I get frustrated with the people I live with, they still live in our house. If I drop the utensil I am eating with, it does not disappear. If you break up with the person you are in love with, they still exist. Children cannot make their friends vanish as soon as they do something that upsets them. Why should God be any different in our lives?

The first definition I shared with you is, 'accompanied by'. Joshua 1:9 says "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go". Did you catch that? The Lord your God is "with" you wherever you go. When you walk into school or work, He is with you. When you go buy milk, He is with you. When you get frustrated with someone in traffic, He is still with you. Our God does not step away from us because we are doing something boring or doing something wrong. He does not remove Himself when our struggles are seemingly too messy. No; He is with us, every moment of every day.

If you choose to acknowledge His presence in the dull, the devastating, the difficult, and the delightful moments, you give Him so much opportunity to move in your life. What if you walked into the grocery store "with" God? He may point out an opportunity for you to witness to someone, or make you more aware of a way that He wants to bless you. What if you walked through hearing bad news "with" God? You would be more ready to see Him be in control and trust that He loves you more than you could possibly grasp. He could grow you spiritually and and use you in the lives of those around you. What if you turned to God immediately when you recognize that something you have done was wrong and hurt Him? He could use that as a teaching moment in your life and show you how to avoid temptation next time. What if you watched the sunrise "with" God on your way to work, or listened to the birds sing at lunchtime, or spoke with Him about your joy at someone unexpectedly blessing you? You could see the beauty in the fact He knew those things would happen and how you would feel when they did, and He joyously welcomed those events into your life. You would allow Him to be as involved in your life as He already is.

The second definition is 'characterized as having'. Are you characterized as having God? When people look at you, do they immediately think of Christ? I recently dyed my hair black, so being characterized as 'a girl having or with black hair' would be a pretty accurate characterization of me. If God truly infiltrates every area of our lives, and we cannot just make Him disappear in the blink of an eye, wouldn't it be fairly easy to make it apparent to others that He is that involved with our lives? If He is a welcome part of our day at the grocery store, or at work, or when we get bad news, or when we sin, or when something spectacular happens, would He not begin to shine through our lives and make people question what makes us behave and carry ourselves the way we do?

The final definition I gave was 'using or showing'. If you were trying to build a house and you had all the tools you needed, would you use the hammer when you needed it? Or would you use your shoe instead? We so often try to go through life without taking advantage of God being with us. He is right there, ready to help us if we will only allow Him to. We can accomplish so much more with God than we can apart from Him. Look at each problem, struggle, or trial as an opportunity to let the God of the universe work in your life. He can do huge, incredible things if you will turn to Him and face it with Him. Matthew seven says we will be recognized by our fruit. When people see us turning to God in every circumstance and living our life walking hand in hand with Him, they will see the changes it brings about. They will see you being joyful when you seemingly do not have reason to be. They will see you choosing to obey God when it does not make sense. They will see you loving those who get on your nerves. They will see what God's love can do in the lives of those who welcome Him to live "with" them in every moment.

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