August 7: Where is God?

When I was in high school my Mom not only had "eyes in the back of her head", she had eyes all over town. I couldn't get away with anything, anywhere. It seemed as though news of my "activities" always arrived home before I did.

I was thinking about this the other day during a discussion with some friends about the nature of God. What is God like? One of my friends was questioning the notion of God's omnipresence--His being in all places at the same time. He insisted there are some places God would not go. He even questioned whether or not God ever shows up in church buildings, citing this verse from the Bible:

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands." (Acts 17:24-25)

The Bible asserts that “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

God is aware of everything, everywhere, all the time. Because he sees everything, does that mean God is everywhere?

God is where people who love Him are. God resides in believers in the form of the Holy Spirit. God is wherever He chooses to be and wherever He is invited.

“And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that abides in love abides in God, and God in him…he that does not love does not know God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:16, 8 )

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (Psalms 46:1)

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up 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. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." (Psalms 139:7-12)

How does knowing that God sees, hears and knows everything make you feel? Guilty? Frightened? Comforted? Secure?

I once entered a storage shed at night and turned on the light. The rustling sounds of critters moving was a little unnerving. Some ran for darker hiding places, avoiding the light. The moths were attracted to the light. I suppose that's how it is with God--some people hide out of a sense of fear or guilt, others are drawn to the light of His presence.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)

When the truth of God's word is spoken how do you react?

~ Father, help me to move toward your outstretched arms, trusting that you come to counsel and correct, not condemn. Amen.