God is Everywhere, In All Creation
Psalm 139, verse 7 asks the question; “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Well you know the answer.. There’s nowhere you can go, but that God isn’t there!
Today I’d like us to think about, and appreciate, the very close relationship that we have with our creator, with our God. And I’m not only referring to our spiritual relationship with God, which of course is probably the ultimate closeness. But I’m even referring to our physical life, and the very close relationship that we have with God as we live our everyday life.
Just like the song says; “This Is My Father’s World”. “All nature sings, and ’round me rings, the music of the spheres”. Picture if you would, your favorite outdoor place. It might be a certain place in the mountains, or on the prairie, maybe out on the ranch. But wherever it is.. “In the rustling grass, I can hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.”
Your favorite spot might be your favorite fishing spot, or your favorite picnic spot. Maybe it’s simply at home in your own front or back yard. How about next to your garden? “The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.”
You know, overlooking the ocean is a beautiful spot to be. A sunrise or a sunset.. Wherever that favorite, beautiful, enjoyable, relaxing spot is, God is there, isn’t He? This truly is “our Father’s world”. “I rest me in the thought, of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.”
The scriptures say pretty much the same thing as that song says, don’t they? Like Psalm 19:1 thru 4; “..The heavens declare the glory of God; The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; Night after night they reveal knowledge. Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth; Their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.”
This is our Father’s world, it belongs to God, but actually, He’s given it to us, and He’s right here with us, everywhere. God says in Genesis 1, verse 26; “..Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” And over the earth itself, I might add!
Think about that beautiful garden that God gave to Adam and Eve, to live in; And God was there! Genesis 3, verse 8; “They heard the sound of the LORD God, walking in the garden in the cool, of the day..” Well that particular day, didn’t end up being the best day that Adam and Eve had had, but the point is, There they were, in this beautiful spot that the Lord had created, and had given to them, and there was God, right there with them. And how many perfectly beautiful days had they already spent there in the presence of God?
Well, the bible doesn’t tell us that bit of information, but if there had indeed been many such days, I’m sure that.. “in the rustling grass, they could hear Him pass”, and would imagine that God truly.. “spoke to them everywhere”.
And I would think that that beautiful little spot, that beautiful “garden”, in and of itself, wouldn’t be all that different than your favorite outdoor spot, that you love to be in so much. What it would really boil down to, is.. Here’s this little piece of “paradise” that God has created, and has given to you to enjoy; Where you and He can be together. No matter what else is going on in this troubled world, it’s really not all that hard, to have that little piece of “paradise”, where you can enjoy what God has created, and where you can talk to the lord, and where “He speaks to you everywhere”.
God has given us so much, and it would be really nice if we’d simply learn to appreciate it all, and to take advantage of it all, and to let it uplift us, and to give us confidence in knowing that God is always with us. And not only in these special “little places;, but in every place, and at every time.
So many people, spend so much time wondering.. Is there a God, or isn’t there. And it seems so hard to understand that anyone would even question that, since the whole creation, everywhere, speaks of God. There’s no limitations with God; He’s 100% Spirit, (John 4:24) and that’s HOW He can be everywhere. No limitations, and no boundaries whatsoever.
But think back once again to Genesis, and to Adam and Eve. When God drove them out of the garden, like we’re told in Genesis 3:23, “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” God was banishing Adam and Eve, from a life of leisure, you might say, AND from access to the tree of life. But God never banned anyone, from access to Himself!
Genesis 3, verse 22 says; “..Behold, the man is become one like Us, to know good and evil; And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever..” And so God drove them out of the garden, and away from the tree of life. God couldn’t have any creature who had now become guilty of sin, and who had now died spiritually, reach out and take hold of the tree of life, and acquire for himself physical immortality! And so man had to go.
But God didn’t drive them away from Himself! That garden paradise wasn’t the only place on earth where God’s presence was. As a matter of fact, it sounds like almost immediately, God reached out to Adam, and to his sons, who shortly came on the scene, and instructed them as to how to make sacrifices to God, for their sin. And so God was still right there with Adam and Eve, and with their children, wherever they were.
And that’s the way it is with us. God’s presence is not ONLY, in that “favorite little place” that we’ve got; That favorite outdoor spot. That spot that’s kind of like a “paradise’ for us. But God’s in every place! Everywhere we go, we’re together with God. Even though God is 100% Spirit, we are never physically without Him, as we remain a part of this creation.
And so consider this.. We have never experienced, actual and literal, separation from God. God never intended that we should. Not in our entire life have we ever been separated from God. It’s a fact. I’m talking about being physically separated from God. Yes, we know that sin separates us spiritually from God. (Isaiah 59, verse 2) But not physically. We have never, been physically separated from God.
You see, I think that we could say that God’s presence, “is in” His creation. Isn’t that exactly what we’re told in Romans 1, verse 20 ? “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly SEEN, being understood, from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Well, how could the “invisible attributes” of God, be SEEN in creation, if God isn’t present in His creation? Well, it couldn’t be!
And so then, we’ve never, in all our lives, been physically separated from God. And I think that’s probably why the scripture tells us in Acts 17:27; “God intended that they would seek Him, and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” God’s right here, not somewhere far away, but right here; Right everywhere! That’s enough to put a smile on your face! Even if you can’t be in your “favorite little spot” today. But here you are, and here we are, and here God is.
God says in Jeremiah 1, verse 5; “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..” To me, that implies closeness; Even before were formed in the womb! And as we live our lives, Acts 17:27 says; “..He is not far from each one of us.” Closeness throughout our lives! God is in all of nature, all around us, always. And when we leave his life, where do we go? we simply go back to God. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 7 says; “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Still, closeness to God.
And then at the resurrection, if we’ve been faithful to God, and why wouldn’t we, since He’s with us all the way.. But at the resurrection, we can look forward to hearing the Lord say; (like He said in Mathew 25, verse 23) “Well done, good and faithful servant; Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” In other words, enter into the ETERNAL closeness, of God.
If we would just be faithful to God, we will never spend a day, away from His presence. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Not a day without God in our lives. Not a day!
