Living in the Presence of Our Present-Tense God

A career missionary, fulltime sailboat dweller, and grandma to fourteen precious littles, Grace Fox inspires hope, courage, and transformation through God’s Word in audiences around the globe. Her latest book, Names of God: Living Unafraid, invites readers into a faith journey destined for freedom from fear. It’s a joy to welcome Grace to the farm’s front porch today.

Guest Post by Grace Fox

Breakfast had just begun at a conference I was attending near Budapest, Hungary, when the event host approached me, cell phone in hand. His expression said it all.

“It’s your husband,” he remarked as he handed me the phone. My heart knew what Gene was going to say. 

Recently my dad’s health had declined after he suffered two massive strokes. When I flew to Alberta to visit him during that time, I faced a most difficult decision. Several months earlier, I’d agreed to a speaking tour in Eastern Europe, and my departure was only days away. 

A conference in Hungary for missionary families was my first scheduled stop, and afterward I planned to stay for two days with Diane, an American coworker living in Slovakia. She would then accompany me by train to fulfill nearly a dozen speaking engagements in Poland and Hungary. 

Diane had spent hours coordinating these events and arranging accommodations. I had purchased my plane ticket to Budapest, prepared my messages, and sent out handouts for translation. The women’s ministry leaders in each city had handled advertisements and registrations, pouring their best efforts into the details. 

Canceling the trip seemed unfair to everyone involved overseas, but what if I made the trip and Dad died before I returned? Yet not being present to celebrate his life and support my mom didn’t seem right either.

After praying for guidance and discussing my concerns with my family, I sensed God telling me to fulfill my commitment overseas. I said goodbye to my father, returned home to pack my suitcase, and cried all the way to the airport. Twelve hours after I landed in Budapest, my dad took his last breath, and Gene phoned to break the sad news.

My worst fears had come true: Dad was gone, and my mother, siblings, husband, and children would celebrate his life without me.

I felt strangely alone in a surreal situation. It was no small ordeal to travel by train in a foreign country, teach the Word and pray with women at each event, visit missionaries in their homes, and sleep in a different bed every night … all while grieving my father’s death.

In retrospect, I don’t even know how I managed to keep it together emotionally and mentally. There was only one explanation: Yahweh Shammah was with me. His compassion comforted me. His hands carried me. His strength empowered me. His presence made all the difference.

As painful as my situation was, it provided a precious opportunity to experience God by his name Yahweh Shammah (pronounced “SHAHM-mah”), which in Hebrew means “The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35 NLT). 

I love that the meaning of Yahweh Shammah is present tense: “The Lord Is There.” It’s not “The Lord Was There,” for that could indicate that his presence has gone away, and nowhere does the Bible say that God checked out after communing with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, speaking with Moses on the mountain, protecting Daniel’s buddies in the fiery furnace, or sitting in prison with Paul and Silas and Joseph too. 

“God showed up for his people in ages past, and he does the same for us today. He is alive and well and with us everywhere we go.”

On the contrary, God showed up for his people in ages past, and he does the same for us today. He is alive and well and with us everywhere we go: The song lyric that speaks to your heart at precisely the right moment? That’s God’s presence in disguise. The whispered guidance you hear when facing a major decision? The same. The sunrise is his cheery hello, and the sunset splashed across the sky is his goodnight kiss. 

When we look for God’s presence, it is unavoidable. King David described it this way: “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me” (Psalm 139:7–10 nlt).

Thankfully, neither does the name Yahweh Shammah mean “The Lord Will Be There,” for that would imply he is otherwise occupied and puts our calls for help on hold—or that he’s absent and completely detached from us now but will appear someday in the future to devote himself to us then.

That said, a special day does await when we will experience Yahweh Shammah on a level much different from the present.

As followers of Jesus, we hold fast to the hope of heaven as our future reality, because we believe that all who place their faith in Jesus for salvation will spend eternity with him there (John 3:16; 14:1–3).

What a day that will be when Revelation 21:3 comes to pass: “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them’” (nlt).

In the meantime, we live in the present with its celebrations and sorrows. Some days bring laughter, and some bring tears: We pray until our knees wear out, and still the answers don’t come.

We get into trouble trying to fix people or situations beyond our control. The fear of failure keeps us awake at night. The fear of someone exposing our secret addiction or shame prevents us from developing deep and meaningful relationships.

Our insecurities drive a wedge between us and those we love.

These issues and more prove our need for God’s ever-present help today. Hour by hour. This very moment.

Thank goodness The Lord Is There for us when we need him most, because he is Yahweh Shammah—a present-tense God.

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