Read: Matthew 1:20-23

God is with us. (v. 23 NRSV)

One summer my wife Donna and I visited cousins in Gig Harbor, Washington. We stayed overnight with our relatives and the next day we wanted to visit Mt. Rainier. It was a clear day. The mountain was dramatically visible from the kitchen window. Since it often is cloudy in that region there are many days when the mountain can’t be seen. My cousin encouraged us to take the trip because, she said, “Today the mountain is out.”

Like the mountain, God is always there but he isn’t always “out.” Sometimes when we try to pray the mists of distraction–the many things that demand our attention–make it hard to see God. Or the clouds of suffering make it impossible to feel God’s loving presence. The problem is not that God is absent. God, who gives us life at every moment, it surely present. The Triune God is always with us and at work in every moment.

The light of Christ is what dispels the mists that keep us from knowing God’s presence. By grace the clouds are lifted and we know that God is near. When the fog of our anxieties and attachments is cleared we look in faith and love. We see that God is with us. –David Muyskens

Prayer: God our Maker help us to see through the clouds that you are with us. Amen.

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