Peace in God’s Presence

Have you ever felt terrified? Not just afraid, but really, truly terrified? Perhaps you thought you were going to die, or perhaps you came face-to-face with your greatest fear?

For me, one of these moments happened when I experienced my first anaphylactic reaction. I was in my early thirties when my palms and the bottoms of my feet suddenly turned red and alive with inflammation and itchiness. I needed to fall down or throw up—I couldn’t tell which. The walls around me whirled and surged as I began to black out. My body was completely out of my control.

After an ambulance ride and several hours at the ER, I quickly found an allergist. I now carry an EpiPen with me wherever I go. Fear motivated me to get the help I needed.

Moses: the baby in the basket. Moses: the prince of Egypt. Moses: the man with arms aloft while a wall of sea flanks in front of him. Moses: a lone figure carrying two tablets etched by the very finger of God.

However we might think of Moses when his name comes up, it is easy to remember him in the middle of miraculous stories. He’s the beautiful child, the chosen one, the mighty leader. In children’s Bibles and devotionals, in movies and soundtracks, Moses’ story is full of the flashy moments: the plagues in Egypt, the exodus of God’s people, the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of manna in the desert. We recall on his start as a babe in a basket and his adoptive royal mother; at every turn, his life seems incredible.

But his was also a life marked by fear.

Moses felt immense fear when he came upon the presence of God in the desert—and with good reason. In the Old Testament, we learn that no one could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20). Moses was afraid for his life. But fear is actually a gift to us, for it can help us when we respond to it rightly. For Moses, that meant stripping off his sandals, falling to his knees, and listening. For me, that meant finding a doctor and getting emergency medicine.

In whatever circumstance you find yourself today, know that any fear you experience is meant to strengthen you to get the help you need. And while that help may come in the form of a doctor or medicine or a counselor or a friend, what the human heart ultimately needs is the peace that comes from the presence of God. Why? Because God is our greatest Helper (Psalm 118:7; John 14:26). When it comes to getting help, our supreme help always comes from him.

Yes—that same Presence that scared Moses is actually the antidote to his fear as well. The presence of God becomes his help.

For while God is mighty and awesome (and we should rightly fear his holiness!), he is also humble and lowly. The God whose presence alarmed Moses in the desert is the same one who came as the baby born in a manger. The same God whose existence emblazoned the bush also hugged children and touched lepers and ate with sinners. He knew Moses and called him by name; he knows you and calls you by name too.

And although it is God’s very presence that frightens Moses, it is also actually what saves him: God overcomes Moses’ fear with his presence. For as he calls Moses into a new role—as the leader of the Israelites—Moses is deeply afraid. God’s answer to him? “I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12). God would be with Moses, and that truth offered him peace.

God’s presence is what gives us peace when we come face-to-face with our fears. He is the antidote to our fear, not because our fears disappear (Moses still had to lead his people), but because we don’t face them alone. His presence is our help in times of trouble (Ps. 46:1).

If you are a believer in Christ, whatever fear you are facing today—and no matter what role you must carry out in your life—you are not alone. Immanuel is with you. Christ has promised to “be with you forever” (see John 14:16–17).

His presence with you, through the great gift of the Holy Spirit, is the help that you need to overcome fear and experience peace—the peace of a soul that is at rest in God and with God, knowing that you are never alone.

REFLECT: Ask God to help you better understand his presence with you today. How is he with you in the midst of your circumstances? How is he helping you? Write down what comes to mind, and ask him for the peace that comes from knowing you are never alone. And if you don’t feel him right now? You can rely on Scripture—read John 14:6–7.

Excerpt from The Path to Peace by Ann Swindell provided by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Copyright 2022. Used by permission.

Ann Swindell is an author, speaker, and teacher of writing who is passionate about seeing people set free by the love of Christ. She writes about the intersection of everyday life and God’s love on her website, annswindell.com, and writes regularly for other publications such as Today’s Christian Woman, RELEVANT, Deeply Rooted, and Darling Magazine. Her work has also been featured on blogs such as (in)courage, Ploughshares, and Weavings. Ann holds an MA in Writing from DePaul University and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Seattle Pacific University. She taught composition and creative writing courses as a college instructor for five years and now teaches writing courses online at Writing with Grace, where she loves helping other writers communicate clearly and powerfully as they seek to tell their own stories well. Ann makes her home in the Midwest with her husband and daughter. Learn more at annswindell.com.

Photograph © Sixteen Miles Out, used with permission