Illustration: Presence of God, Comfort

Pastor James Moore of Houston, Texas, tells a story about a young man whose wife had died, leaving him with a small son. Back home from the cemetery, they went to bed early because there was nothing else he could bear to do.

As he lay there in the darkness, grief-stricken and heartbroken, the little boy broke the stillness from his little bed with a disturbing question, “Daddy, where is mommy?”

The father got up and brought the little boy to bed with him, but the child was still disturbed and restless, occasionally asking questions such as, “Why isn’t she here?” and, “When is she coming back?”

Finally the little boy said, “Daddy, if your face is toward me, I think I can go to sleep now.” In a little while, he was quiet.

The father lay there in the darkness, and then in childlike faith, prayed this prayer: “O God, I don’t see how I can survive this. The future looks so miserable, but if Your face is toward me, somehow I think I can make it.”

That’s what the Messiah came to teach us: that God’s face is always toward us. Nothing ever will be able to separate you from His love. Now, that’s real security. (Brett Blair and James W. Moore)