Day 3

God is Omnipresent

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

Psalm 139:7-10

For centuries, creation has tried to force God into the tiny boxes of its imagination. God does not fit, nor can He fit. He is God, or as the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas described in Latin when he described our LORD as “omnipresent.” To be “omnipresent” does not mean our God spreads Himself thinly across the expanse of His creation. Rather, He is fully and completely present everywhere at the same time - so much for fitting into the tiny boxes of our minds.

In Psalm 139, David wrestles with the tension between hiding from the LORD in our sin and shame and seeking His face in the dark hours of our lives. We can run and hide, like Adam and Eve in the Garden, but we cannot escape His pursuit of us. The Holy Spirit opened David’s mind and imagination to see that His hand would guide him, even or especially, when it felt as if God was so far away. In addition, David confessed, “Your right hand will hold me fast.”

The meaning of salvation is not holding onto God with all our strength, but rather that the “nail-scarred” hand of our LORD has us and will never turn loose. He will keep us close, today, tomorrow, every day, anywhere, and everywhere.

St. Patrick, the unlikely missionary to Ireland—the land of his slavery, confessed this reality when he prayed, “Christ with me—Christ before me—Christ behind me—Christ in me—Christ beneath me—Christ above me—Christ on my right—Christ on my left—Christ when I lie down—Christ when I sit down—Christ when I arise—Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me—Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me—Christ in every eye that see me—Christ in every ear that hears me…”

Indeed, our Lord Jesus is “omnipresent.”

Jesus captured the essence of this reality when He taught his disciples: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). Fun note, my eight-o-clock Old Testament class at Howard Payne will begin with just a sleepy remnant, and I will quip, “If two or three are here, then Jesus is here. So, we will have class since Jesus is here!” Even in an Old Testament class, we know that if Jesus is there, it is going to be a great class! Wherever you are today…Jesus is fully and completely present, holding you close in his nail-scarred hands. Enjoy His presence by being fully present with him.  

FURTHER REFLECTION: 

• Like David, do you ever try to “flee” from the presence of the LORD? If so, why are you running away? There is nowhere to hide. Reflect on the reality that Jesus sees you completely—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and loves you. 

• Does God ever seem so far away? C.S. Lewis, in a time of deep grief and sorrow, felt as if God had slammed the door in his face and “doubly locked it.” Reflect on how you can calibrate your feelings to embrace the reality of His presence, even when you don’t feel it.

PRAYER:

Lord, open my imagination and heart to receive Your presence everywhere I am. Please help me to see Your hand at work in the circumstances of my life, working for good in the midst of the good and the bad. Bring focus to my vision, so I can see through the fog of my feelings to see You in all Your glory and grace. Thank You for never letting go of me. Amen. 

FOR FURTHER STUDY:  Jeremiah 23:23-24, Proverbs 15:3, I Kings 8:27 

by: Dr. David Lowrie, Jr.