By Prem Lee
What does the Omnipresence of God mean? Proverbs 15:3 says, “ The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Note the phrase ‘evil and good’. It means that when Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, God was there with tears in His eyes and pain in His heart. When you are visiting the questionable website, with your door locked, in seclusion in your room, God is there with a heavy heart. When you were elated with the unexpected blessing you got in your life God was there glad for you and celebrating with you. God would have been there with Abraham and Sarah at the birth of Isaac. When your life crashed, with an unexpected disaster, God was there carrying you, and feeling your pain. God was with Jacob as he buried Rachel near Bethel.
God was there when you won the victory over temptation. He rejoiced with you. When you failed and gave in to the temptation, He was there encouraging you to get up and pick up your life. When Adam and Eve sinned, God was there helping them to pick up the pieces, teaching them on what needs to be done, clothing them and preparing them for exile from the Garden of Eden.
You cannot hide from God
Jeremiah 23:24 reads as, “ Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.”
I find it amusing that people behave so differently when they are inside the church and when they are away from the church, at their home or office or leisure. Somehow they feel that God is absent there and so they behave in an ungodly manner.
Aaron in the wilderness, with Moses having gone up Mt. Sinai for forty days, felt lost. Moses was their contact with Yahweh. Now how do they reach Yahweh? Though Yahweh was there they thought He was not there and made a golden calf to try and reach God. People do all kind of human efforts to reach God. They need not. They need to in faith speak to God, He is there.
Saul could not find God when he needed Him. So he decided to go the enemy and visited the witch of Endor. But God was there with him and answered him through Samuel. Today, many turn to astrologers, palmists and the Ouija board to find out the future because they are out of touch with God. God wants us to live by faith and not by knowing the future. God wants us to talk to Him and not anyone else about our fears, needs and issues.
I found it an helpful discipline to practice the presence of God 24 x 7 in my life. Be aware of His presence. It affects your behaviour and response to situations.
God is with you in your celebrations
God rejoices with you in your joys and victories. He cares and enjoys to be with us. We need to include God in our celebrations. Not just by a perfunctory prayer at the beginning but by our behaviour reflecting Him and His presence right through the celebration.
After the crossing of the Red Sea, Israel celebrated with God in Exodus 15. After the birth of her child Hannah celebrated with the giving of Samuel to God’s ministry. Celebrations in the New Testament were done with the peace offering, where a portion was given to God and to the priest and the rest used for a celebration.
We acknowledge the presence of God with our offerings in joy to Him.
God is with you in your sorrows
Isaiah 43:2 reads as, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.’
When you are hurting God is there with you. You will be walking through the fire of hurt but God will see that you are not burnt. When David’s child died because of his sin, God was with him comforting him. When Joseph went through the trials in Egypt, God was with him and comforted him so that he could do well and prosper.
Do not get stuck in your sorrows. God is with you taking you through.
There is beautiful poem on this concept titled “Footprints in the Sand”. If you not familiar with this poem you can read it at, https://www.onlythebible.com/Poems/Footprints-in-the-Sand-Poem.html
God is with you in your ministry
Matthew 28:19-20 reads as, “ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
John 17:18 says that each of us have been commissioned by Jesus to minister to the world. We are a kingdom of priests. As we go forth and minister, God has promised to be with us. Many people are under a misapprehension that they have been saved to be a citizen of heaven when they die. That is an error. We are saved to minister for God, and be a part of the kingdom of heaven, now, in the present world as ambassadors for the kingdom of God 2 Cor 5:20. Do not worry about your lack of ability, God will empower you. Just be an instrument in the hand of God and you will experience the power of God in your life.
Radhakrishnan who was my mentor when I was young in the faith, gave me a simple thumb rule. Whenever, anyone asks you to do something for the kingdom of God, just do it. Do not say no. Against all logic, I find that this works wonderfully well for anyone wanting to experience the power of God in their life.
In Matt 18:20 Jesus says, “ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
As long as you are in the company of believers, God is with you.
May you enjoy the presence of God all your life.