Even when He feels infinitely far away, God is closer than we could ever imagine.
OMNIPRESENCE: the state of being everywhere at once.
God is in my home in Strandfontein, He is in the slums of India, He is at 905 Karry Lane, He is in my 4th grade class at Dennegeur Primary School. How can it be that a single being could be in infinite places, yet fully present? It blows my mind.
Sometimes, God feels as if He is billions of light-years away. You search, but you cannot find Him. You look for Him, but He is not there. We cry out to Him, yet as your voice grows weaker and weaker, there is still no reply. It’s a part of our walk with God that is absolutely inevitable. We have all been there, and if you haven’t, your time will come.
When we are in a season of what seems like separation from God, we pray to Him, saying things like “God, come to this place,” “God, fill this room,” “God, be with me.” We ask Him where He is, as if He has left us. How though, if God is everywhere, is He not with you? It is in His very nature to be everywhere, and if we have accepted Him, within us.
Rather than asking God where He is, we should turn the question on ourselves and ask where we are. If God is everywhere, then the only logical explanation for His apparent disappearance must be that we are in a place where we cannot see Him. We are blocked. We are blinded. We have to get where we can see. The former pastor of Vertical Ministries, Timothy Ateek, once used this illustration:
The day a man gets married is quite possibly going to be the only day in all of his life that a woman spends her entire day getting ready for him. The woman he loves, his beautiful, wonderful, spectacular soon-to-be bride will walk down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning, to meet him on the stage. The 30 seconds that it takes her to walk from the door to him will be 30 seconds that he will not want to miss for the life of him. But, he faces a dilemma. As the doors open, everyone rises, blocking his view. So, he has to get where he can see her so that he doesn’t miss a thing.
See that? We have to reposition ourselves so that we can fully see Him-we don’t want to miss what He has for us. But how do we move to where we can see Him? Having gone through seasons where I have felt complete separation from God sprinkled with moments of extreme closeness, I have a few ideas:
- CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. We have to get excited about Him!! We need to change our default setting of approaching time with God from viewing it as a chore to viewing it as an honor and an opportunity. I remember when I was a little girl, I would hate it when my mom would tell my brother and I to stop playing and go do our chores. Maybe it didn’t mean anything until I got older, but she would always remind us that “some little boys and girls don’t have beds to make or dressers to dust, so we should be counting our blessings that we have something to clean!” Now, when I don’t want to de-clutter my space, I am always reminded that I should be thankful that I have clothes to put away and a bed to make. That shift in perspective makes what should be a chore, a joy. Similarly, when we are reminded of the great love Christ showed us by becoming a sacrifice that we might have life in Him, we begin to view spending time with Him and worshipping him as a joy.
- APPROACH PRAYER DIFFERENTLY. I know when I go through times where I don’t feel close to God, my prayer life is almost always slacking. But what if we actually prayed without ceasing like 1 Thessalonians 5:17 calls us to? It is, after all, His will for us, and if we are living in the will of God we are living in right relationship with Him. So, pray continually so much so that you could start each new prayer with the word “and.” Constant communication is vital to any healthy relationship. If we are expecting Him to speak to us, we have to speak to Him as well. After all, a relationship is a dialogue, not a monologue!
- REST IN HIM. If you’re anything like me, rest is a foreign concept. I am constantly going and doing and I do not take much time to rest; however, in the midst of busy lives, it is so important that we set aside the time to be alone with the Lord. Spending intentional time with Him, no matter how that may look, will always grow you closer to Him (one of God’s love languages is 100% quality time!!). Fast. Spend time in His word. Focus on His character and the price He paid for you.
- SEEK HIM. Look to find God in the mundane, in the everyday, in the little things. Allow Him to call you in a way that is specific to you. Look to people, to nature, to art, to music. Seek Him and you will find Him. His beauty is everywhere.
- ASK. Just ask. Ask Him to help you start moving and repositioning yourself so that you can see His hand more clearly in your life. He is the Father who has good plans for us and does not withhold good things from His children. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
During dry spells in our walks with God, it is easy to get discouraged, but we should not lose hope-for our faith is in the well that never runs dry. If you expect nothing from God-if you expect to remain distanced from Him-you will get it every time; have faith that as you draw near to God, He will draw near to you (James 4:8) and cling to the promise that He is with us always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).
