He is Here

Where is God? I get asked this question from time to time by a certain inquisitive three year old. But let’s not kid ourselves and say we don’t all wonder the same thing from time to time. It is not only the little children who long to SEE something, or somehow FEEL God. At the end of this discussion, with the information we have, there will still be some loose ends and some “I don’t know’s,” but rest assured, God wants to be found by us.

In Psalm 104, we are given a beautiful gaze into the nature of our God. And in that chapter it seems God intended to make His presence known. Listen to the word pictures that place God very close to us in this world. “Covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.” (Psa 104:2)  I look up and see rays of light beaming through the clouds as they sometimes do, and I can see God, for He “covers Himself” with that light. The starry heavens above me that I can see on a clear night are but a tent to God.

“He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;” (Psa 104: 3)  God can make something as unstable as water be solid like a rock, which makes sense because He IS my “rock.” (Psa. 18:2)  But just look at the images God wants us to see as we read these verses. He is clothed with light, which is all around us. His chambers are built on water, which is everywhere. The heavens are His tent, He rides on the clouds and the wind. There is no direction we can look without seeing or feeling one or more of these things, and our God wants us to picture Him NEAR us. He is present!  “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  (8)  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  (9)  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, (10) even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (Psa 139:7-10)

Deists believe that God created the universe, sent it spinning, and has left us completely alone until such time as He sees fit to return. But the Bible teaches that “…he is not far from each one of us” (Act 17.27) The word of God should awaken our senses to the presence of God and should comfort us the way that a child is comforted when his father is near. Take refuge in the confidence that God is here, and He loves you.

----Darrell Powell