I went to church yesterday and was deeply encouraged by Pastor Lian’s sermon. Here’s a story she told, paraphrased according to my own interpretation:

There was a missionary who visited remote villages, fueled with the fire to save lives. He remained among the midst of a particular tribe steeped in idolatry. Because they were so desolate, they disregarded the missionary’s message, claiming to have no care over their eternal souls if they can’t even feed themselves. As idol worshippers, they in turn asked for God’s address so that they can go and beg God for food on their tables and clothes on their back. Annoyed but stumped, the missionary could not provide a reply to them.

Something stirred in him after that, so he went back to conduct some research. Where could God’s residence be? It was a simple, direct question which left him dumbfounded. His first realization was that God dwelled in the Garden of Eden where he walked with Adam. God’s first address! However, after the fall of man, God’s presence was no longer there.

God is faithful and did not disappear. He was in the wilderness with His people, guiding them by a cloud as they spent many years wandering. As the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God did not stay behind either. The next Biblical records indicate that God stayed in Solomon’s temple until the Babylonians destroyed it about 400 years later. So where was God after that? The missionary continued his research, more intrigued as he delved deeper into the subject.

Suddenly, he remembered John the Baptist who exclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. The missionary felt a revelation, and concluded that if anyone wants to seek God, they can also look for Jesus since he is the Lamb of God. So Jesus spent 33 years on earth, and he died on the cross, and later ascended to Heaven. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will remain with us to strengthen and guide us after he leaves us for a temporal period. And as Christians, we have received the Holy Spirit into our lives and he is now within us.

So this is it! God does not need an address. He is present with us always as His Holy Spirit is in us. The missionary rejoiced, got the answer he was searching for and could now go back to give the villagers the answer.

God is always in me, in my situation, and I need not go anywhere to search for Him.

I felt a deep surge of comfort and gratitude after service yesterday.