Don, my former pastor, faced a difficult visit.

A beloved church member had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

“What can I say to her?” he asked his wife, Susan, at the breakfast table. “I’ve never walked through a serious illness. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling. And I don’t want to just throw Bible verses at her.” He covered his face with his hands and sat, overwhelmed with the magnitude of her illness and his inability to make it better.

“When my grandmother was dying,” Susan said, “Miss Mable, her oldest and dearest friend came to visit. “She knew Granny had a rough road ahead and would need all the comfort she could get. She said something that carried her all the way through her last days.”

Don raised his head from his hands, a hopeful glint in his eyes. “What was that?”

“She told her, every day, to look for evidence of God’s love and care for her.”

“That’s it?”

“Yup. That’s it. Super simple, but it made a world of difference.” She gazed out the window, transported for a moment back to the little house in the country. “Every time we’d visit Granny, she’d say something like, ‘Let me tell you what God did for me today,’ and then she’d launch off into a description of how she’d received a Get Well card in the mail or enjoyed a visit with a friend. Even when she got really sick, she could always find some evidence of God’s care for her.”

Tears filled Susan’s eyes. “She taught me that no matter how dark the path is before us, God is always there with us. But sometimes we have to look a little closer to see Him.”

Asaph the psalmist understood that God’s works provide indisputable evidence of God’s nearness.

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For your wondrous works declare that Your name is near,” he wrote in Psalm 75:1.

In ancient days, the phrase God’s name” was synonymous with God Himself. If God’s name was there, then God was there.

In order to give thanks to God, we must first learn to recognize God’s fingerprints on the details of our lives. James 1:17 helps us recognize that even the smallest treasures, like a Get Well card or a visit from a friend, come from God’s hand.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

When we recognize those good gifts (the cool breeze that tickled your face, the cookie with just the right balance between nuts and chocolate chips, the undisturbed night of sleep) and express our gratitude to God, we recognize that God is near.

I don’t know about you, but I can walk through just about anything with the Lord Almighty by my side.

My friend Josh, who struggles with claustrophobia, was dreading his upcoming MRI. He worried about panicking once he got into the machine.

“When you feel the walls of the machine around you,” I said, “close your eyes and imagine those are the arms of God holding. God promised never to leave us or forsake us, so it’s not a stretch to say that when you slide into that MRI machine, God goes in with you.”

He texted me later that morning to say he was so relaxed during the test that he almost fell asleep. Only God can provide a peace like that. We both praised God for His wonderful works and His presence with Josh that day.

Let’s be real. Sometimes we all feel alone and abandoned. Circumstances overwhelm us and God seems far away.

But He’s not.

He’s as near as your heart. As Asaph reminded us, His wondrous works declare that He is near.

Today, if you’re struggling to experience God’s presence, look around for evidences of His love and care. Acknowledge them aloud and thank God for them.

I’ll go first:

Thank you, God, for the coolness of the morning. For the food that fills my belly. For the pillow I laid my head upon last night, and for the promise of new morning mercies. Thank you, most of all, that you have numbered all my days and promise to fulfill your good purpose in my life. Thank you for your unfailing presence.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment below and share the evidences of God’s love all around you.

Then rest in the comfort of His presence and the warmth of His love.

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