Your presence is everywhere bringing light into my night. Psalm 139:11 (TPT)
The Water – Present Series – Part 2
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“Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too! If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, you’re there waiting! Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me; for your presence is everywhere bringing light into my night!” Ps 139:7-11 (TPT).
The ‘everywhereness' of God’s presence used to freak me out. I felt like it was there to catch me out, like the “eyes in the back of my mum's head.” (did your mum have that kind of eyes, too?). He watched on as I lived my life, guiding me, correcting me, leading me – perhaps sometimes ashamed, other times, proud. I thought of God as a person, constantly with me. Side by side: him following me, me following him.
But rarely did I think of him being the presence all around me, within me and beyond me. A pulsating life force, the glue of it all, the fabric of things… Not just something that I contain within me, but something that exists and is present with me and apart from me: more than me.
‘Where could I go from your Spirit? Where can I hide from your face?” Poetry, penned by David to express the immediate presence of God in all things, seasons, circumstances. Not just where we are right now, but everywhere, in everything, to everyone.
In his book, “How (Not) to Speak of God,” Peter Rollins said:
“God’s presence is always hyper-presence. This is analogous to the idea of a ship sunken in the depths of the ocean: while the ship contains the water and the water contains the ship, the ship only contains a fraction of the water while the water contains the whole of the ship. Our saturation by God does not merely fill us but also testifies to an ocean we cannot contain. Thus desire for God is born in God.”
John Mark McMillan wrote a song, one line reads (or sings):
“If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.”
All of us. Even those who don’t know it.
It’s NOT a matter of us conjuring the presence of God, calling it forth, drumming it up, singing it in; being perfect enough, having enough, the right stuff, the good stuff… whatever: None of that makes any difference at all in finding the presence of God.
In his book, “The Pursuit of God,” AW Tozer said:
“Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover [uncover] Himself. To each one, he would reveal not only that He is, but what He is as well.”
Jacob said, “Surely God is in this place, and I didn’t know it until now.” (Genesis 28:16).
You could be sinking in an ocean of grace, but you’ll only know it is indeed a grace if you stop striving, cease running, slow down your heartbeat, take a moment, and open your eyes to God all around you and within you.
Present in, to and with the Divine.
“Your presence is everywhere bringing light into my night.” Psalm 139:11.
Your turn! How do you see the presence of God? Leave us your comments below.
Go to Part 3 – Here I Am »
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