How is God Omnipresent

QUESTION: How is God omnipresent throughout the Bible?

ANSWER:

Since God’s presence has frequently produced fear, we might wonder, "How is God omnipresent in ways that calm our fears?"

Upon leaving Egypt, God’s omnipresence manifested itself as the Israelites’ Faithful Guide. God presented Himself as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead the Israelites through the wilderness (Exodus 13:21–22).

The Ark of the Covenant was the support of the “mercy-seat, which served as a throne on which the Lord appeared and from which He spoke. As Jehovah-Nissi (“The Lord Our Banner”) the ark often accompanied the Israelites into battle. As Protector, God’s presence resided in the tabernacle in the center of the camp as well as the pillar of the cloud over the tabernacle. The Psalms repeatedly speak of how David found comfort in knowing that an Omnipresent God remains close to those whose hearts are broken and whose spirits are crushed.

If God is providential, how is God omnipresent to sustain His creation?
From creation’s most embryonic stage, “all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” As an omnipresent God, who existed “before all things,” He holds all eternity together. Certainly God is unwavering in His involvement with all that He has designed, especially man. He is not a God of indifference, but diligently oversees all that affects man’s existence on earth and maintains the properties with which He created them. God asks Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation...Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?” (Job 38:4, 8). God, being present at every point of space with His whole being, is “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3).

Everything that happens takes place in the presence of God. Even something as insignificant as a sparrow’s death does not escape His attention (Matthew 6:26). There is nothing that occurs outside the knowledge and power of the omnipresent God who is forever causing all things to work together for good. Every situation rests securely in His hands, unshaken by time or place. God exists within every circumstance; therefore, we can trust Him. He remains ever-present to sustain the universe as well as to sustain us in life’s battles. In every uncertainty and fear, God is “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

How is God omnipresent to affect mankind?
God desires to make His mercy and grace known to us. From the beginning, man was designed to exist in God’s presence. When sin robbed man of the divine intimacy, God gave us Himself, incarnate—Jesus Christ, as a sinless sacrifice so that we could again experience the fullness of His presence.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5). From the outermost expanses of space to the innermost corners of our spirit, God is Jehovah-Shammah (“The Lord who is Present”).

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