I will be with you.

From today's reading: So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." Exodus 3:10-12

There is so much in today's readings, and although I love the idea of the burning bush and the name of God, it is this little portion of the interchange between God and Moses always catches my eye. Moses says. "Who am I to go..." and God's answer is "I will be with you." God will be his companion as he reaches out and does God's work in the world. God is always our companion when we are doing his work. It doesn't matter if you are preaching a sermon, ministering to someone in need, making a meal for someone who is hungry, visiting someone in a hospital or prison, teaching Sunday School, or comforting a neighbor in grief. Regardless of where God calls us, he promises to be with us - in pain and sorrow as well as in joy and gladness. God's presence is abiding - eternal. All we have to do is to be willing to accept it and his presence will make everything we walk through easier. It doesn't mean that we won't have trouble, or pain, but it does mean that God will be with us throughout our experience. He is our support and guide, our comforter and strengthener, he is always the one who cares, even if everyone else walks away - God is there.