WHERE IS GOD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely
the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He
was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is
none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
(Genesis 28:16)

MEDITATION:
Do you ever stop and think about the reality of God’s presence?
I don’t mean the reality of His existence, but the fact that you
are in His presence. We may not be able to see Him physically,
but He is around us every day. He is spending time with you
even if you are not spending time with Him.

What do you think He is expecting from us when He is near and
observing us? Could He be expecting us to speak to Him through
prayer? Maybe He is hoping that we will thank Him for His blessings.
Whatever the reason, we cannot deny the fact that He is ‘in our place’
the same as He was ‘in Jacob’s place’.

How did Jacob respond when He discovered the Lord was near him?
It scared him! He was asleep so it is doubtful that he was sinning in
front of God, so why was he afraid? He may have thought of sins that
he had committed in God’s presence when he was awake, and he could
have thought that God was there to deal with him and his sins.

Apparently Jacob’s fear subsided fairly quickly as he exclaimed
    “How awesome is this place!”
How could he make such a fast transition? It may have been that
God calmed his fears since He was in Jacob’s presence. When we
read the scriptures, we can see countless times when either God or
one of His angels would tell others to ‘fear not’. Even Mary, the
mother of Jesus, was told not to be afraid.
    But the angel said to her,
    “Do not be afraid, Mary;
    you have found favor with God.”
    (Luke 1:30)

Look at how Mary responded after her fears were calmed,
    “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.
    “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then
    the angel left her.
    (Luke 1:38)
First comes fear, then comes calmness, then comes submission.

God knows our human nature and how we will react to situations,
doesn’t He? He also knows what tempts us to sin and how we can
best combat those temptations. One question we could ask ourselves
is,
    “Would I do the same things if I could see God in my presence?”
Another similar question is,
    “Would I not do the things He wants me to do if I could
      see Him in my presence, waiting to see if I would do them?”

We need to remember the reality that, even though we cannot see
God physically, He is still in our presence, and He sees us. If we
don’t feel overwhelmed and think,
    “How awesome is this place because God is here”,
then more than likely we have not acknowledged His presence.
If we fail to accept His presence, then more than likely we will
continue in ‘our own ways’ instead of being obedient to ‘His ways’.

How can we reinforce to ourselves that He is present and near us?
We spend time with Him in prayer, bible reading and worshiping
Him. We can love Him and rejoice in His love for us. We can consult
with Him throughout the day, asking Him for guidance with any
decisions that we encounter.

He is our teacher, our philosopher, our companion and, our gentle
and kind friend. We accept the fact that He is with us everywhere
we go throughout the day (consequently, we need to be cautious 
of where we go).

We may have feelings of sadness or loneliness, but God is with us.
We may be having a day of stress with no visible sign of relief, but
God is with us. We may be experiencing hurt and disappointment
due to the actions of others, but God is with us.

God is with us no matter what is going on in our lives and we need
to listen carefully for His quiet voice. We should listen to Him in
the Bible. We should talk to Him frequently in prayer. We should
look for Him in whatever circumstances we encounter.

God is with us because He wants to fellowship with us and help us
in our times of need. We need to be constantly aware of His presence
and never neglect our opportunities to seek His help and guidance.

ACTION:
Once again, are you aware of God’s presence? How would your life
change if you could visibly see God’s presence? Are there things in
your life that should not be there? Are there things you are not doing
that God wants you to do? Have you allowed your own selfish desires
to cause you to ignore God and His presence?

Some have said,
    “Yeah, I would have a beer if God was in the room with me!”
Does that sound like someone who is humble and is submissive
toward His will for their lives? Does that sound like someone
who fully understands who God is and the things He desires
for those who belong to Him?

When we have thoughts like, “Where is God?”,
we need to look at what David said in Psalms:
    You have searched me, LORD, and You know me. You know when
    I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You
    discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with
    all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You, LORD, know it
    completely. You hem me in behind and before, and You lay Your
    hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty
    for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee
    from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I
    make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of
    the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand
    will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely
    the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
    even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like
    the day, for darkness is as light to You. For You created my inmost
    being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You
    because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are
    wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from
    You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together
    in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the
    days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them
    came to be. How precious to me are Your thoughts God! How vast is
    the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the
    grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with You.
    (Psalms 139:1-18)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for always being near me.
Forgive me for the sinful things I have done in Your
presence and help me to avoid them in the future. Forgive
me for refusing to do the things You expect of me personally.
Forgive me for not making every effort to fellowship with You
and appreciate the blessings You have given me. Guide me in
my attempts to change my life to include fellowshipping with
You, looking to You for help and guidance, and spending more
time worshiping You with other believers. Help me to replace
my selfish desires with Your desires and plans for my life. I want
to enjoy Your nearness and be able to think, “How awesome is
this place!” because You are in it. Calm my fears so that I can
welcome and relish Your nearness.”

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