God Is Where We Are
Scripture Reading — Psalm 139:1-12
You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5
God is where we are! Psalm 139 makes this clear to us in one of the most beautiful passages of the Bible. From the moment we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, God is there. As the psalmist puts it, "You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." God knows when we sit and when we rise. He knows our every thought and hears our every word. God hems us in and even lays his hand on us. This may seem like an invasion of privacy to some of us, but to the psalmist it was one of the most beautiful things imaginable: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." The psalmist could say this because he had a close relationship with God. To reach a point where we can say with the psalmist, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me" and to experience God's presence in our lives every step of the way, we need to do at least four things. We have to come near to God; we have to confess; we have to communicate; and we have to commit our lives to the Lord. Only then will we be able to celebrate the fact that God is where we are! Let's note carefully over the next several days how, in God's strength, we can make these things a reality in our lives.
Lord, our God, thank you for your closeness to us. Please help us to draw near to you and live faithfully for you. Keep your guiding hand on us, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.
About the author — Arthur J. Schoonveld
Rev. Art Schoonveld is a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church. Before retiring in 2001, he served churches in California, Illinois, and Michigan. Since his retirement he has worked part-time for the denomination and has served as an interim pastor. Art and his wife, Anita, have four children and nine grandchildren.
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