How do I know God is with me?

Psalm 23:6Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 139:5, 7You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. . . . I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

Romans 8:35, 38-39Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? . . . I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible, God’s Word to us, promises that when we have a relationship with God, his presence is always with us. When we believe this promise, we will begin to see events in our lives as evidences of his presence with us and love for us. When we don’t feel a sense of his presence, we should not give in to despair. These feelings don’t reflect the reality of our access to God and his presence with us.

John 14:16-17“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Acts 5:32We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.

Romans 8:15-16You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

2 Corinthians 1:22He [God] has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

Ephesians 1:14The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

When we place our trust in Jesus, God gives us his Spirit as our constant companion and guide. The Holy Spirit assures us in our hearts of God’s active presence all day, every day.

Psalm 9:9-10The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

Psalm 16:8I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalm 34:18-19The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

Psalm 121:3-4He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

Psalm 140:12I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor.

Jonah 1:17Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:6“I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!”

Matthew 28:20“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

If we are trusting in God, we have his guarantee that his presence is with us regardless of life’s circumstances.

Genesis 39:2The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.

Was it because God had abandoned Joseph that he became a slave and a prisoner? No, even then God was with him. God remained at work in Joseph’s life even while he was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave in Potiphar’s household, and sent to prison for something he hadn’t done. Regardless of your situation, God is actively present in your life, working to bring good out of every situation. One of the greatest ways to notice God’s presence is to watch him redeem good from our bad experiences.