We are living in stressful times. Political unrest has sparked revolutions in several Mid-Eastern countries. Natural disasters have killed tens of thousands and a nuclear power plant disaster in Japan scares every person living in a country that has nuclear power plants.

Domestically, our country’s gas prices are sky-rocketing along with everything else. The prices of groceries are going up while package sizes are shrinking. The dollar just doesn’t have much purchasing power today.

People have lost their jobs while others fear that their jobs will be lost in the future. And I won’t even attempt to mention the overwhelming problems we all have in our personal lives. It is enough to make us all crazy.

Where can we find consolation? We can find comfort in God’s presence. No matter what the problems are we still have the promise of Jesus, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

When you were raising your children did any of them sleep with you? All of mine did, and it was always the same: All night long I would be touched. Sometimes it was a hand that reached out and made sure I was still there. Most of the time, however, it was a toe gently touching and somehow bringing comfort to the child who was sleeping.

But each morning when it was time for me to get up, I would gently get out of bed and sneak slowly and quietly down the steps. However, when I got to the bottom, I always heard a cry. Somehow the child (which ever one it was) sensed that I was not there and would run down the stairs to the couch to be close to me.

A child wants to know and needs to know that we are there. In the same way we want to know and need to know that God is there. I can tell you as a preacher, as a Christian and as a human-being that God is always with us and is an “ever present help in time of need.”

Jesus would not only be with us but in us. He would be in us to provide all that we need everyday. If he takes care of the sparrows and the lilies of the field, certainly he will take care of us. “We can cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for us.”

James Kearns is pastor of Bald Knob United Brethren Church in Kitts Hill