The Omnipresent God
The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him.
2 Chronicles 2:6
The author of Hebrews writes, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands” (Hebrews 1:10). God’s story has no beginning and has no end. He is the creator, not the creation, and while everything in the universe is present in one place in time, God is everywhere present (omnipresent) for all time. Solomon said of God, “Who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?” (2 Chronicles 2:6).
God is not a tree or a rock, but He does sustain “all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). If God ceased to exist, so would all creation, “for in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We cannot think of God as being in one place or another. David wrote, “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” (Psalm 139:8-10).
These are comforting words if we are seeking the security of His presence. On the other hand, if we—like Adam and Eve in the Garden—are trying to hide from Him, they can be threatening. The Bible is clear that it is impossible to flee from God. As the Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? . . . Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24). Even darkness cannot hide us from God, because darkness is as light to Him (see Psalm 139:11-12). Nor can the expanse of space set limits on Him, for He contains space itself.
Because God is everywhere present, He is “near to all who call on him” (Psalm 145:18). We may think of God as being remote from us, but that is not because He resides in some far-off galaxy. Rather, it is because of how different His nature is from our own. Sin has separated us from God in terms of relationship, and there is nothing we can do to reconnect with Him apart from the saving work of Christ.
God has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). We should acknowledge His presence and increasingly become more aware of how He is working in our midst. It makes no sense to pray that God will “be with” us, since God, by His very nature, is always present. We should instead pray that God will enable us to become more conscious of His presence. David understood this when he wrote, “I have set the Lord continually before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).
We worship God when we ascribe to Him the divine attributes that only He possesses. The Lord doesn’t need affirmation from us about who He is. He is fully secure within Himself. We worship God because we need to continually bring His divine attributes to our minds. We will never be alone as long as we acknowledge that our heavenly Father is always with us.
a few questions to ponder:
In Psalm 139:1-12, how does David acknowledge God’s omnipresence?
What does David say about those who try to hide from God?
Why do some people feel that God is distant from them?
Does it comfort you to know that God is always present? Why or why not?
How can acknowledging the presence of God affect how you live?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.