By Wendy Wood
God is always fully present. The whole of His being is always everywhere.
Heath Lambert says “God is always present everywhere with the fullness of who He is”
Hildebert of Lavardin was a French theologian from 1055-1133, and A.W. Tozer quoted him in Knowledge of the Holy. “God is over all things, under all things, outside all; within but not enclosed; without by not excluded; above but not raised up; below but not depressed; wholly above, presiding; wholly beneath, sustaining, wholly within, filling”
Stephen Charnock said, “God is not measured by time, so He is not limited by place… God, because infinite, fills all, yet so as not to be contained by them, as wine and water is to a vessel. He is from the height of the heaven to the bottom of the deeps, in every point of the world, and in the whole circle of it, yet not limited by it, but beyond it”
Psalm 139:7-10 shows the comfort that comes from God’s presence.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
This is meant to be a comfort and blessing. We cannot take ourselves outside of God’s presence. Even if we try to run away, God is there. This is a comfort for the children of God, but a warning to others. Life is meant to be worship all day, every day. We are to live with God’s presence and being at the forefront of our thoughts. For unbelievers, this should cause fear. God is always there - and to ignore Him is of greatest concern.
Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me”
God’s presence should turn our fear into peace. We have the all-powerful God with us at all times. No matter how grim our circumstances may be, they are not more powerful than the God who is with us.
Hebrews 13:5 promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When Moses is called to be the leader of the Israelites, he insists to God that he is not the right person for the job. He says no one will listen to him, he says he is not an eloquent speaker, he gives several excuses. God’s response is “I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” Exodus 4:12
When Jesus gave the great commission to go and make disciples of the nation, the command was given with the tremendous encouragement that He would always be with them, as He is with us.
God’s presence should lead all of us to pursue holiness. God sees what we think, say, and do. When Joseph is seduced by Potiphar’s wife, he says “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9)
Our counselees need to truly believe and trust that God is with them, even when they choose sin. God calls us to “acknowledge Him in all our ways” (Prov 3:5-6) knowing that He sees and rewards each according to his deeds.
A sinner should see God’s presence as an accountability and an encouragement to make choices that honor and please Him. When faced with a temptation, stopping to think about God being right there with you, should cause a child of God to choose righteousness.
A suffering counselee should be encouraged to find hope and comfort with God’s presence. Whether the counselee is suffering in loneliness, or suffering in fear of illness, unknown future, broken relationships, or any other suffering on this earth, God is with them and in His mercy, He acts. James 4:8 says “draw near to God and He will draw near to you”. We are encouraged to seek God in prayer, to draw near Him in His word. It is through His word and Holy Spirit that God brings the comfort of His presence.
I have had counselees who suffered such severe trauma that God’s presence caused them concern and confusion and even doubt. How could a good God let this happen? How could God be present when a child is sexually abused by her father? Or how could God be present when the fatal traffic accident happened and took a loved one?
There are definitely things about God and His attributes we don’t know or understand. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
We don’t know exactly why God allows certain things to happen. But we can know God as He describes Himself in Scripture. We know He was present in this trauma. We have a High Priest who is sympathetic with our sufferings. We have a Savior who also suffered as an innocent Person and completely understands how shame and hurt impact us. We know that He was powerful enough to prevent it so we can trust that He had a plan and purpose even if we don’t know what it is. We know that He is holy, and therefore is not defiled by evil or affected by evil in any way. We know that He is merciful and cares deeply when His children are hurt. Over and over again in the Gospels we see Jesus having compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Embracing the love of God as Father and Shepherd in all His attributes should bring hope to his children. I encourage my counselees to go to God in prayer over these situations. They can honestly express their hurt and confusion while at the same time trusting in God’s attributes and purpose. Ultimately we have the promise of Romans 8:28-29 that God is using even the evil of this world for His glory and the good of His children in conforming them to the image of Christ. God’s goodness means that He will be compassionate and present and draw a humble and tender heart deeper into relationship with Himself through life’s most difficult events.
You will need to study and know God well before entering the counseling room. Even if you never choose to counsel, knowing God is of utmost importance as it leads to worship and right living. We cannot worship what we do not know and we won’t choose holiness if we are not thinking rightly about God.