(Back to Home)

Here’s the good news. There is someone who is always there for you—ready to stand beside you—ready to fight for you. It’s God. You cannot escape His presence. Wherever you are, God is. Whatever you are going through, God is right in the middle of it with you. God says in Jeremiah 23:24 "‘Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?’ says the Lord." There is no place that God isn’t. He’s always there.

Theologians use a fancy term for God’s presence. Hold onto your seats. They call this God’s omnipresence. The word "omni" means "all". The word "presence" means "locality." In simplest of terms: God is present everywhere. He is not limited by space, place or location. God can be in all places, all at the same time. God is everywhere.

Be careful. God is an everywhere-present God, but this doesn’t mean God is "in" everything. His presence is everywhere, but His essence is not. Don’t confuse the creator with His creation. This heresy called Pantheism says that God is a part of everything. God is grass. You’re sitting on God. Actually, we are gods. Therefore, we can conveniently do whatever we want and get away with it because we are answerable to no one. We’re our own little gods.

Now at this point, we could acknowledge our everywhere-present God and go home with a new, fancy word in our vocabulary, but there would still be one nagging question in our heads—"So what?" How does His presence affect my marriage? How does it affect me tomorrow at work? How does God’s presence affect me at school or affect whom I date? Well, I’d like to spend the rest of our time today talking about the implications of the omnipresence of God. I want to address the "so what" aspect of God’s everywhere presence. And over the next three weeks, we’ll see how God’s everywhere presence plays out in practical terms with an Old Testament character named Joseph.

The first and most basic implication of God’s omnipresence is this: 1. God is an eyewitness of you. The coast is never clear in God’s world. There’s no such thing as a hidden agenda or a closed bedroom door. It’s all there for God to see. Psalm 139:7–10 says, "I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there."

Human nature tells us that if no one is looking and we can’t see God, we can do whatever we want because no one will know. You can treat your spouse like dirt, cheat on your taxes, take company supplies, and sleep with whomever because no one is watching. It’s much easier to do what’s right when you know someone is watching, isn’t it? Who rolls a stop sign when a policeman is next to them? Who cheats on a test when the teacher is watching? What teenager gets hot and heavy with his or her date when the parents are in the front seat?

Joseph had several perfect opportunities to have an affair with his boss’s wife and to get even with his wicked brothers for selling him into slavery in Egypt, but he knew God was watching.

Knowing that God is watching should do the same for us. His everywhere presence challenges us to be accountable to Him so we don’t falter and ruin our lives. There is no way we can get away from Him. He’s sitting in the cubicle next to you—in the chair next to your computer screen; he’s sharing the TV remote with you. That’s why we should live holy and pure lives before him. We’re never alone—He’s an eyewitness of every single thing we do or think.

A second implication of an everywhere-present God is 2. He is your companion in every situation. Get this: God never asks you to do anything by yourself. As Jesus was preparing His followers for the time when He would return to heaven, He made this promise to them. John 14:16–17, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter (advocate, encourager, counselor), who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you."

Imagine the thought. God the Father has sent God the Holy Spirit to be with you and to live inside you. I don’t understand how it all works, but if you are a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit is not just with you, He lives inside you—acting as your constant companion—serving as a comforter, advocate, encourager and counselor who leads you into truth. You never have to feel alone. He has your back. He’s there to give you moral support and companionship. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, "The eternal God is your refuge; and his everlasting arms are under you."

At the age of 17 Joseph was abandoned by his brothers and deported to Egypt. He knew no one. He had no one to stand beside him. No one was coming to his rescue, but God, as his companion, embraced Joseph with His everlasting arms and never left Joseph’s side.

A final implication of an everywhere-present God is 3. God is your protector and comforter in difficult times. Not only is God an eyewitness and a companion, He provides protection during times of trouble and healing for the brokenhearted. Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

You can’t talk about God’s comfort and protection without reflecting on His truth in Psalm 23:4 in which David says, "Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Whatever dark valley you’re walking through—a difficult, depressing, painful time—David says you are not walking alone. Your everywhere-present God is committed to protecting and comforting you as a shepherd would his sheep.

Joseph was falsely convicted for attempted rape and thrown into an Egyptian prison without parole. But God intervened and rescued Joseph and promoted him to the palace of Pharaoh. Joseph experienced what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 116:8–9: "He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!" Our everywhere-present God is an eyewitness, a companion, and a protector who is always there when you need Him. Every moment we live we walk in His presence.

Let me clarify something. God is equally present everywhere; but He is not equally related to everyone. It’s not until you become a Christ follower by putting your trust in Christ as your Savior that you become rightly related to Him and a part of His family. It’s only then you can get in on the benefits of God’s presence, comfort and companionship. Trust Christ as your Savior who died in your place to pay the penalty for your sins, so you don’t have to go it alone.

I’ve never seen God, but it doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist or isn’t near by. I’ve never seen radio, TV or cell phone signals in this auditorium, but I know they exist. They’re bombarding us. They’re everywhere. Thousands of signals are blanketing us right now. But it takes the right equipment to receive the signal. Even with the right equipment, you can ignore these signals as though they don’t exist or you can tune into them and receive tremendous benefits.

In the same way, you must be rightly related to God—to have the right equipment—to experience His signal or presence. But even then, you can ignore God’s everywhere presence and miss the awesome benefits of being tuned into him. So tune into God’s everywhere presence and you’ll experience God’s ongoing, everyday benefits in your life. God may seem silent, but He’s always there when you need Him.

Dial into God’s everywhere presence and experience His awesome benefits.