Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

I CAN SEE YOU Clara Barton nursed the dying on the bloody battlefield of Antietam. One night in the barn where the wounded were kept, she stopped to comfort an injured boy. She heard him gasp, "Shall I die alone...here...in the dark?" Clara rumpled his hair and shook her head firmly. She then brought in thirty lanterns and placed them around the lad. The youngster took Miss Barton's hand and said, "Oh, I won't die alone now. I can see you." There is power in presence. The nearness of Clara Barton brought hope to the stricken men of the Civil War. Moses also knew the power of presence. He sought the one Presence that would spell the difference between life and death. He knew that if God did not continue with Israel, all was hopeless. Therefore, he said: If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. The prayer of Moses (Exodus 33:12-23) is most appropriate today. As we are led through our own personal wilderness toward the Promised Land, we need the guiding Presence of our eternal Lord. He is not hiding from us but is there--an "ever-present help in the time of trouble."