The World According To Chris Brewer

“We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near…” –Psalm 75:1

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and even though I just posted an hour ago I needed to post something that is important to me, and will hopefully bless everyone that reads it.

As I was driving Interstate 80 through Nebraska a couple days ago, I spotted a billboard on the side of the road. No artwork, just text that read “Jesus, I Trust In You!” I thought it interesting for a billboard on the side of the road to proclaim such a bold faith in Christ, and it really got the wheels turning in my head.

I kept driving and a song from Paul Arnold, pastor and worship leader of the High Point COGOP in Kennewick, came on my iPod. The words of the chorus were unmistakable, they echoed, “Hallelujah, God is here with me and you.” The words spoke to my heart as I kept driving and began to pray. Those words cut straight to me, “I can feel him in the quiet…I can feel him in the shout…God is here with me and you.”

Maybe it was because I was driving. It could have been because I was alone and in unfamiliar territory, but I just felt to pray and thank the Lord for being there. See, just a couple of days earlier, Pastor John Pace of Crimson House, my parents church, preached a message that centered on how the Psalmist David gave thanks unto the Lord, for His name is near. What a comfort to know that Jesus is with us wherever we go.

This was not more evident than during my deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. My mind replayed the time I had gone to Balad Air Base to shoot some footage of the Air Force Theater Hospital and the base police assisting operations there. I had finished interviewing a doctor and asked him off-camera how he was able to handle the pressure and stress of everything. He looked at me and said, “Airman Brewer, I’m not a man of faith, but there are times I can feel the presence of God in the operating room.” That spoke volumes to me, and is a quote I’ll carry with me to my grave. How amazing that the Lord made Himself known to one who did not profess faith — yet also how amazing was it the same God that doctor felt is the same God directing my footsteps every day.

As I sat and replayed what the good doctor said over and over, I thanked the Lord for his gentle hand of protection during my trip, during the four years I was in the Air Force, during my deployment and for his continued protection in the days and months to come.

What an awesome reassurance to have…the name of Jesus is NEAR and that is what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday.

Thank You, Lord, for being near to us, and let us all be thankful for Your presence, comfort, guidance, wisdom, love and grace every day.

Amen.