THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Dearly Beloved, THE PRESENCE OF GOD "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7 NIV). The omnipresent nature of God is affirmed throughout the Bible. Psalm 139 is especially written for this purpose. God is everywhere. There is no hiding place from Him. He is the unseen companion of man wherever man finds himself. This fact of the presence of God is both an encouraging and warning fact. It is encouraging to know that the God of the whole universe is with you when you are passing through the darkest path of life. The psalmist says, "...Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me..." (Psalm 23:4 NIV. See also Psalm 46:11; Isaiah 43:1-2). Jesus Christ also promises, "...surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20 NIV). Paul sums this encouraging fact in this affirmation, "...If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NIV). Nevertheless, the presence of God is also a warning to us in everything we are doing. Here is a story of a man who took his son to another man's farm. When they got there, he placed his son in a vantage place and told him to call out when the son sees anyone coming as he (the father) will be stealing the farm products of the other man. The man was about to start his theft when the son called out. The man could not see anybody coming and he queried the son for his action. The son pointed to heaven and said, "God is there looking at you!" The man was dumbfounded and thanked his son for his wisdom. He left the farm immediately without taking anything. The boy seemed to be referring to Proverbs 5:21, "For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths" (NIV). If everyone is like that son who was conscious of the presence of God, everyone would be cautious in doing, or even thinking to do, any bad thing. No wonder the psalmist concludes his writing about the omnipresence of God by saying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). NB This message was first sent out on June 5, 2005.