02/17/2022
Do we believe that God interacts with us in the present; right here where we are today? Do we believe that He not only exists in Heaven, but is able to reveal himself to us on earth, in this land in which we live? Well, David, a man after God’s own heart, believed this, and if we don’t then do we believe that God is really omnipotent and omnipresent after all? If we limit God to heaven have we set bounds on Him, seeing him as a prisoner, confined to a spiritual world?
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”
Psalm 27:13 ESV
Samuel heard God’s voice in the night as it called out to him, and it was real enough that he thought it was Eli. Jacob wrestled through the night with God, Adam, Noah, Moses, and others spoke with Him, so why would we think that God does not interact with us in our world… in the here, and now?
“Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.””
Genesis 32:28, 30 ESV
Some argue that since the ascension of Jesus God has withdrawn from us, but once again they seek to confine him. In truth, we see Him, and know Him in Jesus… who abides in us, and we in Him.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””
John 14:6-7 ESV
And likewise, the ascension of Christ did not separate us from Him. We know this because after His resurrection, when He was preparing to ascend, we heard Him say to His disciples that He is with us always…
“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:20 ESV
If we have faith, that doesn’t limit us to a life in which we are waiting on God, and Jesus to return from some far off place in which they have travelled. We aren’t meant to hear scripture that tells us that God is Spirit, and think we thus know Him in His entirety.
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.””
John 4:24 ESV
Worshiping God in spirit and truth is a commandment of Jesus, and scripture tells us about what this means, truth is the Holy Spirit…
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
John 16:13 ESV
And, truth is God’s Word…
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:16-18 ESV
We also know that God resides in Heaven, but think on this question… is God where Heaven is, or is Heaven where God is? These are two very different scenarios. If God is where Heaven is then He is limited, but if Heaven is where God is, then Heaven knows no limits, just as God knows no limits. In this way Heaven is made to surround Him always, and everywhere… even to include earth.
““But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”
1 Kings 8:27 ESV
In this way we are already in Heaven because God tells us that He is with us always, and we are already in eternity, because He is in us, and we in Him.
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
1 John 4:12-15 ESV
So God interacts with us here where we are today because He is with us always. He is with us yesterday, today, and through all eternity. There is no place that we will not experience His presence… not even in Sheol.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”
Psalm 139:7-8 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being with us always, and surrounding us with all you are; your love, goodness, mercy, grace, and every characteristic of your eternal presence. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who lived, suffered, died, was resurrected, and ascended into Heaven to sit at your right hand. Thank you for His blood, and body, that have cleansed us of sin, and defeated death for us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us so completely, that you made your son to be flesh that we might see your power and glory. Praised be your name for abiding in us through Jesus, and calling us His heirs, and joint heirs in you. You are merciful Father, and your grace, like all that is of you, has no bounds… it is sufficient for all of creation. So as you wash us in the blood of Jesus today, and transform us day by day to be more like Him, we worship you in spirit, truth, and by prostrating our physical selves before you as our voices are raised in eternal song to you. Let all of heaven echo with the sound of our praise as we sing of your glory without end.
Rich Forbes