IS GOD NEARBY? WHAT ARE HIS LIMITATIONS?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If I go up to the heavens, You are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.”
(Psalm 139:8)

MEDITATION:
If someone were to ask you, “Where is God?” what would you say?
Would you point to the sky and say something like,
    “The Old Man is up there”?
Would you say He is in heaven? Or would you say He lives in
your heart?

There are people with good intentions who may be guilty of
limiting the presence of God. They might restrict His presence
to selected dimensions with rigid boundaries, to restricted
heavenly areas of the universe, and to religious sanctuaries or
other manmade structures.

However, God’s presence is absolutely immeasurable. The Bible
describes Him as Spirit, which means He is not limited to a body,
shape, area, or location. God’s presence has no limitations. There
is no limit to His wisdom and power. There is no limit to His love,
mercy and grace.

God is the One who determines all boundaries, so if He were to be
restricted in any way, He would be imposing those limitations on
Himself. But He didn’t do that.

It can be difficult to wrap our minds around the magnitude of God’s
presence. However, the beauty of faith is:
    We may not understand everything, or be able to see God
    with our own eyes, but we believe in His existence, because
    of what the scriptures tell us about Him.
        Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me,
        you have believed; blessed are those who have not
        seen and yet have believed.”
        (John 20:29)

        Though you have not seen him, you love him;
        and even though you do not see him now, you
        believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible
        and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result
        of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
        (1 Peter 1:8-9)

We see changes in many areas (people, fashion styles, environments, fads,
conditions, circumstances, etc.), but God never changes. He was, is, and
will always be the same. Mankind may develop many different ideas about
God, but He remains omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and will never
conform to any of mankind’s mistaken ideas about Him.

ACTION:
Where is God in your own life? Is He far away, or near to you?
Do you allow (invite) Him to be a part of your everyday life?
    Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence
    to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a
    new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that
    is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house
    of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with
    the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled
    to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies
    washed with pure water.
    (Hebrews 10:19-22)

    Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your
    hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
    Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning
    and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and
    He will lift you up.
    (James 4:8-10)

From these verses, we can see the beauty of God and His loving
desire to transform us into members of His family. God knows
the struggles we have with temptation and sin, and He wants to
create in us a new mind that has been purified by the removal
of unrighteousness and filled with righteousness.
    It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you
    should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should
    learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and
    honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do
    not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong
    or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish
    all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned
    you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live
    a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction
    does not reject a human being but God, the very God who
    gives you His Holy Spirit.
    (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me if I have ever limited who You are
in any way. Fill me with Your wisdom, mercy and power so I can
have a positive impact on those You love. Help me to understand
the full magnitude of Your presence in this world, and in my own
life. I want to know You more each day, and to serve You effectively
in the way You have chosen specifically for me. Thank You for
wanting to purify my mind and transform me into a new person
(something You can do, that I cannot do for myself). Create in
me a greater love for you each day!”

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