What do we talk about when we talk about God?
When you think about God, what do you think of?
Many of us might think of an image of a person- maybe a traditional image of Jesus- a tall man, in a white robe, with long flowing hair and some nice Birkenstock scandals on his feet.
Some of us might think of an old man in the sky, with a long beard, sitting on a throne, looking down at us on planet earth watching our every move.
Some of us might think of everything- we might think of God as an ever-present spirit that is always with us, in us, and around us.
The truth is that when it comes to illustrating God in our minds eye, no two people think of God the same way. Each of us understand God through the lens of our life experience, our traditions, our cultures, and the images we’ve seen.
While we might not think about God in exactly the same way as our neighbor in the pew next to us, the truth is that we can know about God and know God personally- this is the great claim of the Christian tradition- that God is not some far off, distant being that we know nothing about, but instead is present in our world and interacts with each of us on a personal, intimate level.
In the person of Jesus, Christians claim, God became incarnate, meaning that God became a human being, God took on flesh, and dwelt on earth, in our world, with us, so that God could know intimately what it was like to be human and also to demonstrate to us what it looked like to live a life in relationship to God.
Whereas many other religious traditions have prohibitions against depicting God or claiming to know very much about God, Christianity suggests that God can be known, God can be experienced, God can be related to- that God is with us- this is after all what “Emmanuel” means, one of the many names attributed to Jesus.
God is with us.
And that, my friends, is beautiful, good news.
But what else can we know about God?
What else do we claim, as Christians, about who God is and how we think about God?
In both of our Scripture readings today, we hear the words of our ancient Jewish forerunners in the faith describing God- not what God looks like, but rather, who God is, God’s nature, God’s character.
And in these two passages we learn some very important aspects of who God is and how God works in the world.
Let’s begin by exploring the words of King David, written in Psalms 139. In our passage, David writes:
“O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.”
David tells us that God knows us- that God searches our hearts and minds and is present in our daily actions.
This is very different than how many in the ancient world thought about gods- they believed gods were singular individuals that could only interact with humans when humans spoke directly to them.
The claim of Scripture is the our God is not limited by time and space- God is present with us, in our minds, in our hearts, and in our actions- that whatever we think and whatever we do, the presence of God is with us.
David continues:
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
David says that God is acquainted with all of his ways- that God knows his thoughts even before he verbalizes them, and that God hems him in- God is with him wherever he goes.
What does this mean for us?
The question this Scripture invites us to reflect on is whether we live in awareness of God’s presence, whether we live believing that this is indeed true, and if we allow the ever-present presence of God to guide our thoughts and our actions throughout the day.
You see, it’s one thing to declare “I believe God is with me”, but its an entirely different thing to live like that’s true.
Do you live like God’s Spirit is with you? Are you aware of God’s presence in the deep recesses of your heart and mind?
In moments of anxiety, fear, or confusion, do you stop, breathe, and remember that your Creator is with you- you’re not alone- and trust that God will give you the wisdom you need to take the next right step?
You see, friends, many of us can get into the habit of living as “practical atheists”- what I mean is that we profess faith, we recite the words of the creed, we pray on Sunday mornings- but the rest of our week, we shut out God.
We turn our hearts and spirits from the truth that God is with us- God sees us, God walks with us, God is available to us, and God demands that we walk in truth and righteousness.
And because we live as practical atheists, we are tossed about by anxiety and worry, we engage in behaviors we wouldn’t if we had our minds tuned to the presence of God, and we are miss out on the peace and the power that comes from being rooted in relationship with our Creator.
If we believe God is present, that the Creator of all that is desires to be in relationship with us and knows our every thought, wouldn’t we want to cultivate our relationship with God?
Wouldn’t we want to make sure that we’re living rightly?
Wouldn’t we guard our hearts and mind our thoughts- focusing on that which is good, beautiful, and true?
Wouldn’t we spend our time differently- maybe less time scrolling on our phones and more time in prayer and sitting in the presence of the great Lover of our souls?
Friends, this is the truth- and it’s not just a religious doctrine, it’s something you can experience.
If you are intentional throughout the day- perhaps setting reminders in your phone- to pause and take a few moments to pray, to meditate, to reflect on God’s presence, you will grow in your awareness of God in your life and in your world- and your life will be transformed.
The Creator is available to you at every moment of every day- but you must tune your hearts to God’s presence to realize it!
Upon realizing this incredible truth, King David exclaims:
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can 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 settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”
David rejoices at the profound truth that the eternal Creator cares so much about him, that God guides his every step and hears his every thought!
He says that there is nowhere in the universe that he can go where God is not- not to heaven or hell, not on the wings of the morning or the depths of the sea- there is nothing that can separate him or us from the loving guidance of God.
There is nothing he can do to make God turn away from him.
There is no sin that he can commit that will result in God abandoning him.
And the same is true for you and me.
When we sin, we mess up, when we give in to temptations- God’s Spirit within us is grieved. God calls us to do what is right and what is good- and when we violate God’s law, we are disregarding and disrespecting that one who made us and gives us the very breath in our lungs.
And there are consequences for our sins- there are temporal consequences when we’re held accountable by those in our lives or by the law for when we do wrong.
And there are spiritual consequences- we may distance ourselves from God, our spiritual life may whither, and we may experience a sense of isolation and darkness.
But, according to David, the one thing that won’t happen to us is for God to leave us, for God to abandon us, for God to disown us.
No matter where you go.
No matter what you do.
No matter how far away you run.
God will never leave you. God will not forsake you. God’s love for you will never waver- not one bit.
And that is very good news. And it is very bad news.
It is good news, obviously, because we always have access to God- God is only a breathe or prayer away. We are never alone or far from God.
It is bad news because we are never far from God- meaning that if we decide to willfully reject God’s law and live according to our own sinful standards, God is with us. God sees us- all of it. And God will not often protect us from the consequences of our actions.
This is God’s judgement.
Yet even still, God is with us.
Even in our waywardness, God’s presence remains with us.
Even when we express hatred for God, God’s love for us remains.
As David says, even if I descend to hell, even there you are with me.
God is ever present, even when we don’t feel it or cant perceive it.
In our darkest moments, in our biggest failures- God is still with us. God is still available to us. God still desires to redeem us.
Always.
Our second Scripture reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah, and it gives us an even deeper insight into who God is. Isaiah writes, speaking for God:
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah is a prophet, and the role of the prophet is to speak on behalf of God to people, usually to call them to repent of their wrongdoing.
Israel, you might now, has a faithfulness problem.
They often are lured into worshipping false idols- others gods from surrounding pagan nations.
These idols are not gods at all- they are not real and have no power. Yet time and time again, Israel turns to worship things that are not the one true and living God.
So God, speaking through Isaiah, reminds them: I am the first and the last- there is no one else. It’s just me, folks!
Now before we judge Israel for worshipping idols, the truth is that we also struggle with faithfulness. We also struggle with idolatry.
We may not bow down to bronze statues of pagan deities, but when we are living as practical atheists, we often begin worshipping something else.
In New York, lots of folks worship their careers. Everything in their life is focused on building a career, climbing the corporate ladder, getting bigger titles. Their whole life is devoted to that.
For some people, money is an idol. Everything they do is to get more money, because they believe that it alone will fulfill them.
For others, relationships can be idols- we make other people our god, believing that they have the key to our happiness and we sacrifice our lives for certain relationships believing that we will be made whole through them.
But friends, no job, no money, no person can ultimately fulfill you.
No job, money, or person can make you whole.
As C.S. Lewis wrote, each of us have a “God-shaped hole” in our souls- the only thing that can fulfill the deepest longing of our souls is a relationship with the Eternal Creator of All Things.
God alone is the source of ultimate fulfillment and comfort, because God alone is the only constant in our lives and in the universe.
You can lose a job, lose money, lose a person- through it all, God is the only one that remains constant, whose love remains consistent, whose words are eternally true.
Our devotion must be towards God- we must cast down the idols in our lives and focus more on cultivating the presence of God in our lives if we really want to live each day with a sense of purpose and peace.
Isaiah continues:
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.
God is making it clear that no one has God’s power- there is no other God like our God.
And then God speaks these profound words that I want us to end our time today reflecting on:
“Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.”
Do not fear.
Do not be afraid.
I am the rock.
These are God’s words to Israel and God’s words to us this morning.
Despite the truth that God is all-powerful and could destroy the world at any moment should God desire that, despite the fact that God is grieved and angered by our sin and injustice, despite the fact that every breath we breathe is dependent on God, we’re told do not fear. Do not be afraid.
So much of the religion that so many of us are taught is rooted in fear- namely, we’re taught to be afraid of God.
Yet the constant refrain from Genesis to Revelation is do not be afraid, do not fear- why?
Because God is good.
God’s nature is fundamentally good.
God’s heart is for justice.
God’s nature is love.
God is a good parent.
God will never leave us.
God will not forsake us.
We have nothing to be afraid of when we live in the presence of God.
Because we know that God will always lead us towards healing, towards restoration, and towards redemption.
One of my favorite Scriptures reiterates this very point. In 1 John 4:18 we’re told:
“God is love and there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
God’s love casts out fear.
God is not Zeus- an angry deity in the sky looking to strike us with lightening bolts, but rather is a good father, a loving creator, and ever-present spirit of peace that always moves us towards love and truth.
So even though Isaiah is speaking to a disobedient people- a people who have started worshipping other gods and goddesses- God says don’t be afraid.
God says, return to me.
God says “come home, wayward children.”
God says “repent of your wrongdoing, and if you do, I will lavish my grace upon you.”
God says that “I am the rock.”
God says you may change, wander, be disobedient, turn away, but I will remain the same. I will remain right here. I will remain ever present with you.
Though everything else in your world may change, though your relationships change, though your life may change, God is the same.
God is faithful.
God is good.
And God is with you.
We’re invited to simply turn to God to experience these truths.
To turn from our sin.
To turn from our busy-ness.
To turn from our anxieties.
To turn back to God, to turn our attention to God, to turn our hearts to God at every moment of every day.
Because there is nowhere we can go, nothing we can do that will separate us from the love of our Creator.
And that, my friends, is the kind of God we worship.
A God who is unchanging. Who is with us. Who knows all things and controls all things. A God whose nature is love, goodness, justice, and peace. A God who want to be with us. A God who is unlike all others.
This week, may each of us take time to pause and become aware of the presence of our God- may we make time to pray, to sit in the silent presence of God, to read the Scriptures to be reminded of God’s will and God’s way.
And the promise is that the more we invest in God, the more saturated our lives will become with God’s presence and power.
And I don’t know about you, but I need more of God in my life.