Deuteronomy 31:6 — Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
I could have chosen any one of a number of verses that express one of my favorite truths about God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Wherever I am, there God is. David said it beautifully:
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)
It’s one of those “OMNI” things about God. You know — omnipotence, omniscience, … this one is omnipresence. God is everywhere. This is what God is like — He fills space and time. If there is any good quality He is the ultimate expression — He is all-knowing, all-powerful … and all-loving.
God is not just omnipresent … being everywhere implies that He is immense. He fills all of space — all of ever space. “for in him we live, and move, and have our being;” (Acts 17:28)
Because God is everywhere I always have a friend. He is the friend who is closer than a brother.
Because God is everywhere, I need never be afraid. He will never leave me nor forsake me.
Not only is God everywhere — He is eternal: “… lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. …” (Matthew 28:20).
I suppose there are those who might see a down side to all of this. God’s omnipresence means that He sees everything … There is no hiding our sins, nor escaping His chastisement if He decides what I need. It also means it is peculiarly terrible when He withdraws himself. I believe the occasional pain I feel when I seem not to feel God’s presence is a distant echo of the agony Christ suffered on the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken me?” God does not “go away” — there can be no concept of departure for an infinite God — but He does withdraw His intimacy.
I love this idea that wherever I go, God is there before I am, and will be there when I am long gone.
I am never alone. Praise God.