Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place…” Isaiah 57:15
God is present everywhere—but where can you find Him? One place is in heaven: God says, “I dwell in the high and holy place.” If you could ascend to heaven, you would find God there.
God’s people in Old Testament times knew another place where they could find God. When they came out of Egypt, He told them to build an ark—a rectangular box housed in a tent, where the high priest would offer sacrifices. God said, “There I will meet with you” (Ex. 25:22), and the cloud of God’s glory filled the tent (40:34–35).
When God’s people entered the promised land, God made it very clear that He would choose one place where He would meet with His people (Deut. 12:5–7). It was David who identified Jerusalem as the place God had spoken about. And when the temple was built in Jerusalem, the cloud of God’s glory filled it (1 Kgs. 8:10–11). We don’t meet with God at the place of our choosing, but at the place of His choosing.
You may be feeling far from God, and it may be that the reason you feel far from God is that you are far from God. In Isaiah 57, God is speaking to people who are far from Him (57:19), and He talks about removing “every obstruction” out of their way (57:14). God is clearing the roadblocks so that you can get to Him—or better, so that He can get to you.
Is there something keeping you at a distance from God?
