Graduate 151: Five Reflections for the Church, Part 4

The God who is There.
Composed: 07 June 2009.

What does it mean to say that God is everywhere? What do we mean when we speak of God's omnipresence? On a Christian radio station, this week, I heard a grandmother share about how she tried to convey this idea to her granddaughter. She listed all kinds of places around the house and around the world where God is present, and she ended by talking about how God is even in her granddaughter's heart. After hearing this, her granddaughter looked down toward her heart, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Is He even in my tummy?"

The story is an amusing illustration of how children's minds so often run in different directions than we expect. And yet, I sometimes wonder: When we think about God's omnipresence, are our thoughts much more mature or sophisticated? Do we sometimes miss the point as completely as that little girl did?

What does it mean to say that God is everywhere? It means that there is nothing happening on this earth or elsewhere of which God is not aware and in which He is not involved. It means that wherever you find yourself, right now, or later today, or sometime this week--in whatever situation or circumstance you find yourself--God is there with you. Moreover, He is not just "with you" in the sense that a complete stranger might be sitting in the same room "with you"--where there might be a total lack of interest or involvement in what you are doing. Rather, God is deeply interested in who you are and what you are doing, and He has chosen to involve Himself in your life. If you are facing some great need, He is there to help. If you are lonely or afraid or doubtful, He is there to comfort you. If you are doing work or engaged in ministry, He is ready to provide you with the ability and resources to accomplish that. When you consider the troubles that face our country and our world and wonder, "Is God involved? Is God aware?"--the answer is, "Yes." When you face pain or sorrow or stress or shame, and you wonder, "Does God care?"--the answer is, "Yes." When you look at your life and your family and your situation and your circumstances and wonder, "Does God have a good plan for me?"--the answer is, "Yes."

The Psalmist writes,
"Where can I go from Thy Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Thy hand will lead me,
And Thy right hand will lay hold of me. (139:7-10)

Why is it so important to spend time meditating on this familiar truth? Because it is foundational for everything that we hope to accomplish as followers of Jesus. The person who forgets or neglects this truth will never muster the wherewithal to pursue the kind of significant change in her life that will allow her to experience fully the grace and love of God. The person who cannot meaningfully conceive of God being with him and watching faithfully over him will not have the courage to take his eyes off of himself and actually focus them on the needs of other people. Besides that, everything that we hope to accomplish in our city and in our world depends upon God already being present there. What we desire just is to become involved in the work that He is already doing.

Pray that we would all come to understand this truth and reality in the fullest possible way. Pray in confidence to the God who is everywhere and knows all and sees all and who loves you and me.

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.