Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, but all His thoughts were on the pilgrim Church which He was about to leave behind. He seems to be saying, I am going to the presence of My Father in heaven, but, nevertheless, I am with you always! John, the apostle who had leaned on His bosom, spoke with emphasis about the Lord who was absent, “Our fellowship is indeed with … Jesus Christ” (1 Jn. 1:3).

Amid so much that is fleeting in this world, how reassuring it is to know that the Savior is always with us, to know that, if I am indeed a child of God, there is not a single instant when I am without the guardianship of the Lord Jesus! His is no fitful companionship—present in prosperity, gone in adversity. He is with us in sickness and solitude, in joy and in adversity, in life and in death.

Are you troubled and tempted? Do dark providences and severe afflictions seem to belie the truth of the reality of His gracious assurances? Be assured that He has some faithful end in view. By the removal of prized and cherished props and refuges, He would unfold more and more of His own tenderness. Amid the wreck and ruin of earthly joys, which, it may be, the grave has hidden from your sight, One nearer, dearer, tenderer still would have you say of Himself, “The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted” (Ps. 18:46 kjv). The believer of today can exclaim, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14). This is especially true when we are stripped of all competing objects of creature attention and left with “Jesus alone.”