The Promise is His Presence | Glenna Marshall

How often have you felt bereft of God’s presence in your life?  You may have been a Christian for many years, but have felt you are missing God’s constant and awesome presence that you deeply desire to experience? Or more poignantly, in seasons of great suffering and deep pain, do you ache for the very presence of the God you know you need?

Or perhaps you have not felt you are missing the presence of God– his presence in your life is evidenced in the abundance of blessings and lack of hardships.

In one way or another, people are often searching for signs of God’s presence, but just missing the mark.

Glenna Marshall takes us on a journey throughout the Bible, leading us through God’s redemptive work from the very beginning through to the present, and how he continues to work in his people.  Glenna vulnerably interweaves stories of her own personal struggles and her wrestle with truly knowing God’s presence in her life through many seasons of grief and despair. 

She reminds us that God’s ultimate promise for his people is, simply, himself.  His promise is his presence in our lives, in our sufferings, in our joys, in our sorrows.  She encourages us to continually turn to his word to remind us of his faithful love.  He gives us his Spirit to live in us, and he gives us the church as one of the primary means for enjoying his presence. 

She reminds the reader in the last chapter, as an exhortation:

“The promise has always been His presence. In every way that we need Him, He has kept His promise. He is enough. He will always be enough. He will keep every promise to be enough.”


To coincide with our annual conference, EQUIP Picks are 10 great reads, chosen and reviewed by the EQUIP Women Team for women.

EQUIP22 Picks will be available for a limited time online via our ministry partner, Reformers Bookshop.

A percentage of the sales from books bought via the above link will support our CMS missionary, M.


Meet Deb Agahari

Deb is the Treasurer for EQUIP. She serves together with her husband Darwin and their two kids at Epping Presbyterian Church.  During the week Deb works in finance.