And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

You could call it the ultimate experiment in social distancing.  In 1934, Admiral Richard Byrd spent five months alone in a one room shack in Antarctica, buried under snow, at the world’s end.  In his memoir, titled, Alone, Byrd wrote, “The human race… is not alone in the universe. Though I am cut off from human beings, I am not alone.”

Jesus Christ communicated the same thing to his disciples right before He ascended back into heaven after being resurrected.  He said, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus said this knowing He was about to leave them physically, so He was giving them reassurance for the future. They were about to receive the presence of the Holy Spirit. The same presence of the Holy Spirit is God with us.

If you go with your friend to the store, you are together in the same space, spending time together. But being with someone is also presence of mind and spirit. If you are separated by distance, you might still say to your friend, “my heart is with you.” You are thinking of them continuously, sharing in their feelings and experiences.

Follower of Jesus, remember that God is with you. The Holy Spirit is not just generally in the world, and the promise of His presence was not only for the disciples Jesus walked with. God knows your name. The Holy Spirit is present with you in your most secret pain, the hardest relationships, and the moments of great beauty.

Resource reading:  John 16:4-33