the presence of God

I am really enjoying the study of David I am doing. Today as I was reading, something jumped off the pages right at me- and I thought I'd share :)

The background is 1 Samuel 21:1-9. Saul wants David dead so David is on the run. He flees to a certain priest and ends up at the tabernacle where he requests food and a weapon. It turns out that the only thing to eat is the Bread of the Presence (shew bread in the KJV) and the only weapon is Goliath's sword.

Beth asks these questions:
You have probably gone through difficulties in which you felt lost and afraid. Can you think of ways God has reminded you that He was with you, that His "presence" was there?
The answer to that question was easy. Yes! I have gone through difficult times and can for sure think of ways He has made His presence known to me.

Did the reminder of His presence calm your heart or did you continue to fret and search for a refuge elsewhere?

That last question really got me. I think it was a trick actually! Since I had already answered YES to the first question I had to do some soul searching and ask myself- Was the assurance of God's presence enough? Many times when my heart ought to be calm I continue to fret and search for a refuge elsewhere.

She goes on to say:
God reminded David of His presence but David continued to run frantically from village to village. Surely Samuel reminded David of God's plan when David fled to Ramah. God reminded David of His presence and provision through the priest of Nob. God reminded David in another way. Is is coincidental that the only weapon in the city of Nob was Goliath's? Is it possible God was trying to remind David that he had overcome a greater enemy than Saul with God's help? None of these reminders seemed to help because David had forgotten to measure his obstacle against his God rather than against his own strength (as he had Goliath)!

(Of course that reminds me of a particular sermon series my dad gave a couple of years ago where he reminded us weekly that-
"It's not about the size of your giant but about the size of your God!)

All that to say: God's presence IS enough-whether I acknowledge that or not. If I go searching elsewhere for peace that only reveals my own foolishness.
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 16:11
"You will make know to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (NAS)
There you have it! God's presence=fullness of joy. Why look anywhere else?