Series: When God Isn’t There Week 2: God—Absent & Everywhere
God is present everywhere because, without His presence, nothing would exist. We cannot properly understand presence without absence
Absence is seen by noticing where God’s presence is & is not.
God is present everywhere at the same time—God must be present everywhere. The general presence of God is necessary for 3 reasons:
(1) IMMENSITY. God is so large that He fills absolutely everything. Deuteronomy 33:12
(2) SUSTAINING POWER: Creation’s existence depends on the presence of its Creator. Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17.
(3) SOVEREIGNTY: God must be present in all places at all times to do all things. God is generally present as a result of His omniscience (all-knowing) & omnipotence (all-powerful). Psalm 139:7-10.
God is never fully absent. God is always there. God’s general presence is required for the world to exist. But this is not the presence we most desire. General presence is presence required, but not presence desired.
But there are still unanswered questions:
- If I am in a relationship with God, why does He feel so absent?
- If I am supposed to be God’s child, why does He feel like a distant or ever absent father?
- If the Holy Spirit is dwelling in me now that I’m a Christian, why do I not feel that different from before I believed?
- How can God always be present with me if He feels so absent?
God’s general presence awakens a desire in us that it does not fulfill. The general presence of God creates a general knowledge of God. Romans 1:19-20.
We all feel the absence of God. Our desire for God is fueled by the overwhelming hints of His presence we see & feel throughout His world.
It is the presence of food that makes us realize its absence in our stomachs. It is God’s nearness that makes us notice His distance. God’s absence is the product of His presence.
John 6:35, 53-58, 66. When Jesus offered His presence, the crowds responded with their absence.
The presence offered through a relationship with Jesus is what we most require while on this earth & what we need when we leave it.
Revelation 19:6-9.
Don’t make yourself absent to the offer of presence.
