A.W. Tozer is one of my favorite authors. He published a wonderful book in 1950 entitled “The Divine Conquest,” in which he identified a common problem among Christians that still exists today. Quoting a few excerpts:

“Is it not true that for most of us who call ourselves Christians there is no real experience? We have substituted theological ideas for an arresting encounter; we are full of religious notions, but our great weakness is that for our hearts there is no one there…..

“We talk of Him much and loudly, but we secretly think of Him as being absent… we think of ourselves as being alone….

“The men and women of the Bible talked with God. They spoke to Him and heard Him speak in words they could understand. With Him they held person to person converse….  Nothing can take the place of the touch of God in the soul and the sense of Someone there…”

The dictionary says theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief. No matter what a Christian professes, it is what a Christian lives that reveals his or her true theology. When I read Tozer’s words — which are all too true — I think to myself, this is a theology of aloneness. The belief that even though God exists and saved you, you are still alone.

We are often asked why we named our ministry “Shammah.” We did so because Shammah is our favorite biblical “Jehovah name” of God. Jehovah Shammah means, “God is present.”

Child of God, please believe in God’s presence with you. Do not doubt His word, and do not ignore his presence. One leads to the other.

Perfect theology begins with believing in God’s presence… Jehovah Shammah for YOU.

Tonia