Psalm 139:7-12
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

I can never get away from God. Nothing can separate me from Him. He is everywhere, and there is nowhere I can go that He is not. There is nothing that can ever block His view of me. I am therefore continually in His presence and under His watchful eye. If I wanted to find a place where He was absent, I could search the whole world and never find it. If I could go somewhere beyond this earth, I would still remain in His presence.

So then the Lord is near to me when I go about my day barely acknowledging Him, and He is with me when I seek Him and long for Him with all my heart. He is there when tragedy strikes and sorrow overwhelms the same as when joy floods my soul and I can’t contain my praise. He is there when enemies attack or friends draw near. He is everywhere I go as I go, as I stand bare and exposed before Him, fully seen and known. Adam and Eve tried to hide after they sinned. Jonah tried to flee when he didn’t like God’s call for him.  But there is no escaping Him. Paul was left abandoned, but the Lord stood with him. Joseph faced bondage and prison, but the Lord was with him even there. The smallest sparrow does not fall from the sky without escaping His notice. And so then I am there before Him when I might be full of shame or when He would find something in me in which He would delight.

So how do I relate to this constant companion, this God who sees and knows? Do I walk closely with Him or wander away? Probably both at different points in my life. Do I seek His face and His will, or do I try to hide from His gaze, pretending He can’t see what I’m doing or what truly is in my heart? Again, probably both. But what could it change if I could realize more fully this great truth that He is always everywhere? I could be more confident and less fearful, perhaps, or maybe sin less or praise more. Let it be, then, a constant awareness in my heart and mind as I go through my days, a continual acknowledgement that God is near, an understanding that He is aware of me, available to me, and able to help with whatever I need from Him.