Psalm 139: God is there

January 15, 2021 (Friday)

 

Series on end times starting January 17, 2021!

 

We are looking at Psalm 139. Yesterday we learned that God knows us. Let’s pick up today’s ideas.

 

Not only does God know us, He’s already where we are going. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” [Psalm 139:7 ESV] This is a rhetorical question. The answer is no place. David no lists places.

 

“If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too!” [Psalm 139:8 CEB] There are two points behind this verse. First, even physical death will not spare us from the presence of God. Second, even if we travel beyond anything we can imagine, God is there.

 

“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,” [Psalm 139:9 ESV] It doesn’t matter if we are in the sky or in the sea, God is already there. The next idea is one of comfort or horror, depending on your perspective.

 

“Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” [Psalm 139:19 ESV] If we welcome the presence of God, then this is a comfort and joy. Knowing, it does not matter where we are, God is there with us. If you are trying to run from God, like Jonah, this is a terror because there is nowhere to run.

 

Even our idea of what think as covering fails, “If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” [Psalm 139:11 – 12 ESV] The key here is we are thinking like humans.

 

Wait, did I just say that? Can we really admit our inability to understand a being other than us? Are we so stuck in this world that we do not understand the reality of physics beyond what we know? Maybe that is why we are so limited.

 

We think we have the right or ability to decide what is “good and evil.” This runs into the physical and spiritual laws of the universe. If God says we are “sinners,” nothing will change that fact. If God calls us “children,” nothing will change that fact. What you are is your choice.

 

Do you follow Jesus or not? James 1:22 tests us, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” [ESV] The word translated “doers” is a person the puts in full effort. The word translated “hearers” is basically someone who audits a class. They are not accountable.

 

Someone who puts in full effort will find and welcome God wherever they are at. Someone who is only auditing Christianity may be uncomfortable to find God standing next to them. It doesn’t change the fact that God is where you have already been, where you are now, and where you will go.