Always There and Always Doing

“Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Ps 139:10 AV)

 

Psalm 139 is a psalm about God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence as it affects the very creation and life of an individual.  The Psalmist declares God’s sovereignty and decrees where it concerns his life.  This psalm is a psalm of great comfort to those who dwell on the very basic questions of life.  Who am I?  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  This psalm is a lengthy psalm and in the section of verse ten, the Psalmist is observing that no matter where is he, from his conception to eternity, God is there.  Even more importantly, in the above verse, he is recalling God leads and empowers him every moment of every day.  No matter where he is or what he is going through, God is there to show him wherein he is to walk and keeping him in the palm of His hand.  Perception is not necessarily reality.  We may perceive there are times when God seems present and other times He does not, but that doesn’t make it so.  Our writer is giving us the eternal truth of God’s never-ending involvement in our lives regardless of whether we see it or do not see it.

Because we are linear thinkers, we compartmentalize our lives.  Even though there are events in our lives that transcend all our compartments.  For example,  we have appointments throughout the week.  We have a schedule.  We go shopping, we go to the doctors, we go to the restaurant, or we go get gas.  When we are home we do the dishes, walk the dog, cook breakfast, and clean the bathroom.  Our lives are filled with tasks and places to be.  These are all organized into a workable schedule.  We pay bills, we go to church, we call the kids, we get showered and dressed.  Our days are filled with things that need to get done or places we need to be.  We study for our Sunday school lesson, we get caught up on the news, we check up on our elderly parents, and we share the gospel with a complete stranger.  Our lives are filled with events.  Each separate and apart from the next even though they are part of a cohesive flow.  Among all of these things, there are events that we take absolutely no notice of.  These events are necessary more so than those things listed above.  Because of their nature, however, we never really pay any attention.  Our hearts beat somewhere between 70 -160 beats per minute depending on our activity level.  We breathe in and out several times a minute.  Our brains fire signals from one nerve ending to another.  These things are automatic.  The reason we take little notice of them unless something is wrong precisely because they are automatic.  No planning is required.  They operate behind the scenes.  Often taken for granted and relied upon.  There is no break in their operation.  The heart continues to beat.  The lungs continue to expand and contracts.  The brain continues to think.  They are ever-present and never cease to function.

Often, this is how we view God.  Or, should we say, fail to perceive God.  My God is with me every nano-second of my life.  Paul tells us in Colossians that by Christ, all things consist.  That is, Jesus Christ, also God, sustains all of creation and it is by His power every sub-atomic particle moves.  Paul tells us in Acts chapter seventeen it is in the Father that we all have our being.  Imagine if you could carry your heart outside of your body and watch it beat where ever you are?  Would that not change our attitude towards the health of our hearts?  Would that not change our gratitude that such a muscle exists which sustains and gives life?  It would radically change our interaction with our hearts and make our hearts far more personal.  God is spirit.  We cannot produce God.  We must see Him with the eyes of faith.  In seeing Him with the eyes of faith we can agree with our Psalmist that He leads us every moment and holds us up that we live, and move, and have our being.  If we could simply remember that God never leaves, this would change everything.  If we stopped compartmentalizing God into events like devotions and church attendance, then our lives would be radically different.