Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Even There
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. (Psalm 139:8 NLT)
I believe there is an epidemic of suicide today. But suicide doesn’t solve problems; it simply hurls a person immediately into eternity, into the presence of God Almighty, with all their problems unresolved. Meanwhile, it leaves their loved ones grieving and often blaming themselves.
Death does not hide us from God. God is present everywhere, on both sides of the grave. The psalmist David wrote, “If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there” (Psalm 139:8 NLT).
Distance does not separate us from God. David went on to say, “If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me” (verses 9–10 NLT).
No matter where we go, He is there. He is watching over us.
Of course, Jonah discovered this truth about God after he thought he’d successfully escaped from God. He was asleep on a boat when a great storm arose, and God snatched him up and put him inside a fish He had prepared to get Jonah back in line. In that case, this act of God was a disciplining one.
The day will come in the future of the church when we will be taken into the presence of God. We call this the Rapture. Jesus said, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:2-3 NLT).
The phrase “I will come and get you” also could be translated “I will take you by force” or “I will snatch you.”
Jesus was saying there will be a generation on this earth (and we may be that generation) that will not see death but will be taken immediately into the presence of God. He will snatch them away.
So, not only will Jesus hold us while we are on this planet, but it just may be that He will come and pull us off this earth in the Rapture, if it happens in our lifetime.
David also pointed out that darkness does not separate us from God. He wrote, “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you” (Psalm 139:11-12 NLT).
We think of darkness as covering everything. But God sees in the darkness. It’s like daytime to Him. He sees everything and knows everything. Yet if your life is right with God, it’s comforting to know that God sees you.
Have you ever noticed that strange people come out late at night? The later it gets, the stranger they get. Of course, the question arises: What are they doing out at that hour? Somehow people think that when they turn out the light, no one will see them. But God sees. Nothing escapes His attention. There are no secrets with Him.
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