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“Jesus keeps me safe,” Jovi, my oldest daughter, quietly said as I tucked her in the other night.
“Yes, He will always keep you safe,” I said, while hugging her.
“He is not here,” Jovi responded.
It was in that moment I knew I could send a sense of reassurance into Jovi’s toddler-sized heart. She is only 2.5 years old, so I understand she can only process so much. But I knew she remembers things well.
“Oh, sweetie,” I said, “Jesus is here. He is with you, with me. He is everywhere.”
She replied, “Jesus is here.”
To ensure she knew my point even more, I replied, “I know you can’t see Jesus, but I promise He is here. He is always with you.”
The next day my wife told me as she was putting her down for a nap, Jovi randomly said, “Jesus is here.”
Let the heart melting begin.
I knew I didn’t need to explain the mysterious intricacies of the omnipresence of Jesus—how can He be everywhere at once? But I knew the fact that He is with her would calm her for the night and, better yet, she’d remember it. And she did.
Christian, I tell this story to give you—to give me, to give all of us—a reminder. Jesus is here with us. He is not distant, far off, or lost. He is here and cares for us.
Jesus, as the second Person of the Trinity, is not confined to time and space. He is transcendent. He is truly everywhere at once. He is just as much in the future as He is in the present. He will never leave nor forsake us, but will always be by our side.
Here are a few things to remember.
Remembering the omnipresence of God brings comfort in times of distress. Nothing should calm our hearts more than knowing God is always with us (Joshua 1:9). We don’t have to worry about God not being by our side through everything life throws at us. If we are in our home, He is there. If we are in the car, He is there. No matter where we are, He is there—always.
Remembering the omnipresence of God helps us soak in the realities of His sovereign rule and reign. One of the funnest—and most mysterious—things to ponder about God is his sovereignty. It doesn’t take much for me to think about the complexities of how sovereign God truly is and what that entails. His omnipresence is directly linked with His sovereignty. If God is not omnipresent—everywhere and everywhen at once—then He is not sovereign. But He is. And when we think on His sovereign reign, it helps us marvel at the God we serve.
Remembering the omnipresence of God makes us ponder the fact that we’re not Him. Ultimately, when we remind ourselves of His omnipresence, we likewise remember we are not Him. We are not God, He is. And thank God for that. He is holy—completely “other” than us. And this is a wonderful thing, as any of us would be horrible at running the universe. But it also allows us to let our guards down and be vulnerable. We don’t control our lives—God does. When we let God be God, our life is better. It’s when we forget His omnipresence—and His other attributes—that we start attempting to control our own lives, and then everything goes to shambles.
But here’s the remarkable thing. With Jesus being omnipresent that doesn’t mean He’s only watching you from a distance or just “keeping an eye on you.” No. He is both transcendent and personal to us. He is imminent. He is near.
So, friends, ponder this today. Jesus is with us. He is everywhere, but very close to us. He cares and loves us. Let the reality of His omnipresence bring you immense comfort and push you forward in becoming more like Him.
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This article appeared originally on theology-and-life.com.
Blake Long
Blake Long is an author and blogger at theology-and-life.com. He is married to his wife, Shale, and they have two little girls and a rowdy dog. He received his MTS in Preaching and Pastoral Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. You can find his new book, Gospel Smugness, on Amazon.
