Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 8: 27 … [From Solomon’s prayer] … “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built! ”
My Journal for Today: As I explore the attributes of God this month, one that is most reassuring to me as a Christian is the characteristic of God being OMNIPRESENT. No, there is no way that I can totally get my mind around that quality completely. But when I think of the reality of God being infinitely present everywhere and always, it goes “hand-in-glove” with the proclamation of Hebrews 13: 5 …
SCRIPTURE: Heb. 13: 5 … God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." [quoted from Deut. 31: 6]
And when God’s word, and especially when Jesus, commands us to do something, even something enormous like the Great Commission (see Matt. 18: 19-20), we can know that He’s always there WITH us and FOR us. That’s also the promise of 1st Cor. 10: 13 … a verse which I memorized a long time ago to help me in times of testing, trial, and/or temptation …
SCRIPTURE: 1st Cor. 10: 13 No temptation [which can also be translated “test, trial, trouble, or tribulation”] has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
It’s God’s infinitely caring omnipresence that makes such a promise possible, affirming for believers that God is ALWAYS faithful and will ALWAYS be there, ANYWHERE and in ANY SITUATION, to provide the way for us when were being tried, tested, or tempted. Now is that cool, or what?!!!
And so, I believe the reality of God’s omnipresence should not seem like a God who’s constantly tracking us, … like some all powerful private eye. No, rather it should motivate us towards holiness because of God’s omnipresent love, mercy, and grace, which is always there to lift us up when we need it (see Isaiah 41: 10). Certainly, there is no where we can go to hide our sin from God (see Ps. 139: 1-12). But God’s omnipresence is much more positively seen in His promise of everlasting cleansing from sin (1st John 1: 9), allowing us to move on toward a life of Christlikeness (see Gal. 2: 20).
[Blogger’s Note: Other than the highlight verse for the day from 1st Kings and possibly the longer passage from Ps. 139, I think any reader should be motivated to memorize all of the other verses quoted in the exposition of today’s devotional entry. They are all verses which can useful for encouragement when circumstances are challenging. And who of us couldn’t use that?!]
My Prayer Today: Thanks for being everywhere with me, Lord. Amen
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