God watches over His entire creation. This daily devotional looks at how God is always present with us.
Nuggets
- There is no place that God is not.
- God is all-encompassing.
- God is our guardian and keeper.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Finding Our Center series
We have talked about how God is all-powerful and all-knowing. The last all-encompassing word to look at is that God is all-present.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Let's Put It into Context #2
We’ve looked at God being omnipresence before. We said that omnipresent means God is everywhere.
Looking at different verses, we came up with these nuggets.
- God is everywhere.
- God through His Holy Spirit lives within us; therefore, we can’t hide from Him.
- God especially comes to us to encourage us when we are down and to heal us.
- God is present because He wants a relationship with us.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Let’s look at some other verses that show God’s omnipresent.
God Is Everywhere at All Time
“Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me” (Ps. 139: 7-10 CSB)
There is no place that God is not.
One thing we have trouble wrapping our heads around is that God can be all places at all times. That is because we have physical bodies.
I like what Hopkins said. He wrote, “God is in the meanest cottage as well as in the stateliest palace; for God is everywhere present and sees all things.”
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The verses in Psalms confirm that God is everywhere.
But it isn’t like our being. God doesn’t have a physical body like ours. He is a spirit. (Okay, we should have looked at that before this. Sorry.)
When it talks about God coming down from heaven (Gen. 18: 21), I think it is talking about a figurative movement rather than a literal movement. I think there are times, that wording is chosen so that we can understand – at least in a limited way. Revelation is a good example of that.
Wait a second! Does that mean God is places where we as disciples wouldn’t be caught dead in?
Hopkins said yes. He wrote, “God doth not think it any disparagement to Him, nor think it unworthy of Him, to know and make all these which we call vile and filthy places; why, then, should we think it unworthy of Him to be present there?”
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Some of us may not know what Sheol is. Mackennal told us it is another name for hell.
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Hmmmm. God is in hell???? I, personally, think that the reference does not refer to God’s location. I think it has more to do with it is God’s decision when we die.
I look at it more as God is working in us rather than he is in a physical location. I know I’m probably a broken record, but I think it’s all about character.
God Is Bigger than Heaven or Earth
“But will God indeed live on earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built” (I Kgs. 8: 27 CSB)
God is all-encompassing.
I kind of scratched my head about this verse. I found one good sermon by Clarke, though.
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Well, after we figure it out. In Elaine-speak:
• If God is going to be perfect, He has to be omnipresent.
• God has to exist through all time and space.
• This enhances Him being perfect.
• If He is perfect, He should be eternal.
• If God is not omnipresent and eternal, then His perfection and His power will be limited.
• It can feel like, if God is not there, He has never existed.
• God has to be present to act.
• He has to be present to create and to sustain the creation.
• His wisdom must be present.
Wow! We hit like everything in that list. Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Perfect. Eternal. We can’t dissect this and just take out the liver to study. Everything is connected.
Hopkins felt that this verse indicated that God is “… infinitely existent also without the world, and beyond all things but Himself …”
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“This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word’” (Isa. 66: 1-2 NIV).
Clarke argued that God’s omnipresence differentiated Him from the false idols. An idol is an object of worship in any form that takes from God the worship that is His due.
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Being omnipresent, according to Clarke, means God power is limitless. Because of this, God should be worshiped.
God Watches Us
“For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on” (II Chron. 16: 9 CSB)
God is our guardian and keeper.
We can’t be thinking that God literally has His eyes in us. This is figurative for His knowledge and providence of His people.
God does watch over us through His tenderness and mercy. He does this to protect us from Satan and help us.
God clearly looks at us directly. In that way, He can provide what we need.
Making the Connections
Greenhough reminded us what God’s omnipresence really means. If God is everywhere at all times, then so is His love, mercy, forgiveness, and provision is here, too.
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We need to grab onto that fact and feel it down in our hearts. No matter how our days are going or the trajectory of our lives, God is providing for us and watching over us.
Most importantly, God is growing us. He is helping us in our redo.
How Do We Apply This?
Our goal this year is a redo for godliness. Greenhough gave us some advice. He wrote, “If a man aspires after goodness, he will wish to be always near the one Source of goodness. If he is making a brave fight against his sins, he will always want to feel the mighty hand upon him from which alone comes victory; and if he is worn and worried with the dark problems and mysteries of life, nothing will satisfy him but the thought that Divine light and wisdom are moving and working in all that darkness.”
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What all that means is, if we are sincere in our redo for godliness, we should want to be near to God. The more godly we become, the more we can feel — “see” — God’s presence.
I think sometimes we feel that quest for godliness has to be deep theological growth. I don’t know.
Peabody talked about an Old Testament simple faith — an undoubting faith.
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If perfection isn’t what we do or don’t do, but is about being — really — that is simple. What do we believe? How deep is it? Does it guide our actions?
Parker encouraged us to make religious attachments. The way I read it is that it is okay to have our passion for serving God. Teaching is my passion — you through reading these devotions, my Ladies in my Sunday morning Bible study class.
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God watches over us and provides for us.
Father God. You see all that happens. You know what we need and when we need it. You provide all that we need. Amen.
What do you think?
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