Living His Word
. . . He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being. . .
— Acts 17:27-28 NKJV
There are many passages in the Bible that explicitly teach or imply that we have access to the Lord God
of heaven and earth. Here are just a few examples: "Come before His presence with singing" (Psalm
100:2). "Turn to Me with all your heart" (Joel 2:12). "Return to Me," says the LORD of hosts, "and I
will return to you" (Zechariah 1:3). In all these passages, and many more like them, it is simply
assumed that we can come into the presence of the Lord.
Thus, although we cannot see Him or hear Him, at least under normal circumstances, God is available to us
and accessible by us. We can turn to Him, return to Him, come before Him, enter into His presence, and
so on. Just as we can relate to the natural world beneath us, and the human world around us, we can
relate to the Lord God above us. No matter where we are, He is available to us. Jeremiah 23:23 says, "Am
I a God near at hand," says the LORD, "And not a God afar off?"
The reason we have access to the Lord God anywhere and everywhere is because He is, to use a term from
theological discourse, omnipresent. Although God transcends space as its creator, He Himself is wholly
present everywhere in space. As our verses for today put it, "He is not far from each one of us."
Although we can ignore God and turn away from Him, this does not mean that we can actually escape from
His presence. Psalm 139:7-8 says, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your
presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there."
It is true that "in Him we live and move and have our being" because God is present everywhere
sustaining, maintaining, and upholding the whole creation, heaven and earth. Hebrews 1:3 says of God the
Son that He is continuously "upholding all things by the word of His power."
Take comfort today in the thought that God is not far away from you and is not inaccessible to you. At
any time and from any place, you may enter into His presence. [Gary]
Today"s verse:
Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the
enemy.
Exodus 15:6
Thoughts on today"s verse:
We can never forget how mighty the power of God is. God was able to help the Israelites overcome many
battles and enemies that were far greater than them. God is still in the business of helping us overcome
all problems and challenges that appear to be bigger than us. They may be bigger than us, but they will
never be bigger than God.
Prayer:
Dear God, I thank you that I can be at peace in every challenging situation because I know there is
nothing that will ever be too big or too much for you. Thank you for power that is always at work in my
life. In Jesus" name, I pray. Amen. [Andries]
