God is everywhere. His omnipresence can be wither comforting or disconcerting, depending on our relationship with the Lord. In a message of judgment, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah and said, “Am I a God who is near, and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him? Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” (Jer. 23:23-24). The omnipresence of God speaks against sin. We cannot shut God out of some dark corner of our lives.
The omnipresence of God can also be quite comforting. In the Shepherd’s Psalm, the comfort for the sheep was grounded in the presence of the loving Shepherd. David said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23).
We would do well to practice the presence of God. God is present whether we acknowledge Him or not. We have a choice of making His presence a source of help and comfort in our lives or a source of fear and apprehension. The apostle Paul spoke to some pagan idolaters in Acts chapter 17, trying to persuade them to turn to the true and living God. He spoke of the God who made the heavens and the earth – the God who gives life to all things. He spoke of the God who is in control of human history – the God we should seek because “He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exists…” (Acts 17:27-28). Any distance between us and the God of heaven has been placed there by our own rebellion. The Bible promises us that we will find Him is we truly seek Him (Mt. 7:7-8).
The next time the storms of life threaten to overwhelm you or you feel the loneliness of the world’s darkness pressing about you, remember that God is close at hand and that, in the words of the psalmist, to Him “darkness is not dark” and “night is as bright as the day” (Ps. 139:12). Take encouragement from His abiding presence and walk hand in hand with God in the paths of righteousness.
— Glen Elliott —