Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  

~Matthew 28: 19-20 NKJV

As a young person, David Livingstone, the famous Scottish missionary to Africa, prayed about serving the Lord. A portion of Matthew 28 came to his mind: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This scripture is what sustained him through unimaginable suffering and hardship. He would find himself seeing the unseen God.

The Persecution

During his service to God, the African sun parched his skin to a leathery texture. He was blind in one eye after being struck by a tree branch. A lion attack immobilized one shoulder. He experienced twenty-seven to thirty bouts with malaria. His family suffered along with him as he buried two of his children in African soil. On one occasion, his wife had to return to Scotland due to health concerns. On the day she arrived back in Africa, she contracted an African disease, and in a few days, she was dead. As Livingstone knelt beside her grave, weeping, the same message came to his mind: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Promise

This verse was not written just for David Livingstone. It is for us, too. No, most of us will never experience the hardship that Livingstone did. We will all experience times when we do not see God working or feel His presence. But when we do not see His activity in our lives, we should not assume He is not there for us.

By faith, David Livingstone, through all his sufferings, saw the unseen God, based on the promise in the Word of God: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

At times, you will lose sight of God, but God will never lose sight of you.

Father, when I cannot see You, remind me that You never leave my side. In Jesus’s name, amen. 

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2026: Seeing the Unseen God: Ken Barnes: All Rights Reserved.