Episode #209 Where Was God? Trusting Him Even in Painful Times – Knowing God

Hey friends, it's Jen. Welcome to this episode of Good God Talks. We're talking about God's omnipresence.
God is present in every place and time always. There's nowhere we can go or no time we can be in that God is not there with us.

In Jeremiah 23:23-24, God says,

“Am I a God at hand…and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?...Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

And Isaiah 57:15 it says,

“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” (Isaiah 57:15)

Or in the NLT with a little bit more familiar language,

“I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

God can be high and exalted and with the lowly at the same exact time. He's omnipresent. If you needed a few more examples, don't worry, I have them for you.

In Proverbs 15:3, it says,

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)

And that verse used to scare me because I was so worried about God seeing my sin, but he is aware of it already. Because he knows already, we can come confidently asking for help in our time of need, humbling ourself knowing that God wants to be there with us as we come to him with repentant hearts.

He's also there with us when we walk through difficulties. In Isaiah 43:2, it says,

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Now, this awareness of God's omnipresence can feel really encouraging.

It can also feel painful.

The fact that he knows everything, and he is infinite in his qualities, and he is everywhere at every time that can bring up a lot of questions.

Well, God, where were you when this thing happened?
How could you allow that thing to take place?
Why didn't you stop that wounding from occurring?

We can see that personally in our own lives. I know I can. We can also see that for our families and our communities, for our governments, and for our world.

God, if you are here, then what?

Many years ago, I was in a class that was teaching us about talking with God through painful memories. The encouragement of the teacher was to reflect back on a painful time in our lives and to ask God to show us where he was when that thing was happening.

In my painful circumstance, God showed me that he was there with me, crying too. I've shared that example since then, and other people have shared how God showed them how he was holding their hand or sitting next to them. How he was angry, when they were angry. How he was bringing comfort. How he was shielding them from other things.

God is always there and even in the ways that we can't see that He is active and moving, He is active and at work.
The good news is even when you look back at circumstances, thinking, God, if only you had been there… God was there. And he was active. And he was working for your good.

God is omnipresent. And we can trust him with all of what that entails.

As we close today, I encourage you to first consider how you feel about God being omnipresent. And invite him into the conversation with you.

God, what more do you want to show me about why I feel this way and about your omnipresence?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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