Our Omnipresent God

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” – Psalm 139:7-12 (NKJV).

As God’s children, we are never alone. The theological term for God being everywhere is omnipresence. One of the most beautiful and expressive passages of God’s omnipresence is written in Psalm 139:6-12. God is present in the world and with His people in a most unique manner. He is never separate from His creation. As Spirit He can be (and is) present everywhere.

Let’s review some of the people in the Bible who experienced God’s mnipresence. Moses saw God in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and he as with God on the mountain top (Exodus 19:18-20). In the year that ood King Uzziah died, Isaiah experienced God’s presence in the emple (Isaiah 6). He came to Elijah and manifested Himself “in a still, small voice” (I Kings 19:12). He appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road and he was converted (Acts 9). The most amazing appearances was God Emmanuel (God with us), Jesus Christ our Lord, God come to earth, Jesus the Saviour, Who walked, talked, performed miracles, taught disciples during His brief 33-year life on earth. His death was our own sacrifice for sin. His resurrection gave hope over death. His ascension back to the Father celebrated His mission on earth finished and His glory restored.

What beauty of expression is used as the Psalmist describes the omnipresence of God. If I “take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me.” This shows the intimacy with which God regards His children. On land and on sea, He is with us and His hand holds us steadfastly! What reassurance to think that God is living, He is working in His world, and He is aware of and attentive to our comings and goings. Night and day are all the same to Him, and we have no need to be afraid. God is not a remote Spirit, hiding and inaccessible. He is personal and at work in the world He created.

Robert Grant (1779-1838) expressed well the omnipresent nature of God in the third stanza of the beloved hymn, “O Worship the King”:

“Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.” Amen!