Our Omnipresent God

 

O be careful little hands what you do.
The Father up above is looking down in love.
O be careful little hands what you do.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10

I was struck yesterday as we worshiped at the dichotomy of the worship applications of God’s omniscience. He is everywhere. He sees everything we do. He knows. It’s a sobering concept as the children’s song suggests. And then every song we sang in worship was about God’s presence driving away fear. Is it only in children’s songs that we make God’s omnipresence a warning?

So which is it? Do we fear because God is here, or do we NOT fear because God is here? The typical answer is that it depends on what our relationship is with Him. Certainly this is true. But I wonder if it is more than that. I think we are talking about two different kinds of fear. The fear that envelopes us when we fail to recognize His presence is a panicky, debilitating sense of loneliness, dejection, and vulnerability to the whims of an angry and sinful world. It’s Peter looking at the waves. The fear of God is different. It is rooted in a reverence and respect for Almighty God and a deep longing to please Him. Yes, there is a fear of the consequences of sin but it is much deeper than that. Like the children’s song says, He is “looking down in love.” Our fear of God finds a deep dissatisfaction in the prospect of despising His love. That fear is precious.

So we worship the omnipresent God who never leaves us, never abandons us, and never ignores us, even when we act sinfully toward Him. Even His chastening hand is an expression of His eternal love for His children.