Ever-Present God

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

I read a short devotional on the omnipresence of God that was thought-provoking that I’d like to share today. The God who created and made all things is not only omnipotent, He is omnipresent. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

David’s insightful Psalm 139 is certainly one of the most striking affirmations of God’s omnipresence. Psalm 139:8-12 explains, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

God’s omnipresence, however, should not be understood in a pantheistic sense. Omnipresence is defined in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary as: Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence; ubiquity. Everywhere. Omnipresence is an attribute peculiar to God. Although He sees everyone and everything, that does not mean He is in everyone and everything. Evil is the absence of God, but He is there. But since Creator God is spirit and everywhere, He Himself cannot be seen anywhere. Jesus said concerning the Father, “You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape,” but He also said, “I am come in my Father’s name”. “He that has seen me has seen the Father”.

John 14:15-17 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

It is also a wonderful revelation that God, the Holy Spirit now indwells every Christian believer, so this is another way in which God is everywhere—that is, wherever there are true Christians, God is there. “Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”. Live as if God is right there with you … because He is.