Greg Boyd recently questioned, “How can you expect to grow when you spend 99% of your day not thinking about God?” This hits the nail on the head. Many Christians spend their lives waiting for God to show them what to do, but the vast majority of their time is spent looking for anything but what God may be trying to bring to their attention. Others say sometimes they feel like God isn’t listening or isn’t even there. I submit that the reason you might believe He isn’t listening is because you won’t stop talking. Perhaps the reason you think He isn’t there is because you never sit still long enough to experience His presence.
The sad and unfortunate truth is our lives are busy and consumed with everything other than God. Our thoughts are filled with our jobs, our families, our security, and our comfort. Rarely do we walk around concentrating on seeing God in the ordinary moments of our lives. If we are followers of Christ, He lives within us, and we are enveloped in Him. This means He is always there. Everywhere we go, He is with us because He is in us. We can’t get away from His presence or His love.
Given this, how is it that He often seems so distant? Since we know He dwells with us, and we within Him, God is obviously not the problem. Which if you’re playing along at home leaves only one option. We are the problem. When we presume God to be distant, the only possibility is it’s because we’ve pushed Him away. When He isn’t listening, the truth is we aren’t taking the time to wait for His response. God can never be closer than He is. The Spirit of Jesus is everywhere you are at all times.
Jesus is right next to you in this moment, and again in the next. The tragedy is that we rarely take the time to notice His presence. We are consumed by the secular instead of dwelling within the sacred. How different would your life look if you decided to recognize the proximity of Jesus in every moment? When you’re driving, when you’re at work, when you’re at home with your family, He is there. God is there when you are happy, when you’re sad, and all points in between. He sees your good deeds and you’re bad. He is there when you honor Him and when you reject Him.
If we would live with the knowledge that God is fully present in every moment of our lives, we would see the world differently. We would learn to look on every situation as an opportunity to serve Him and others. Instead of passing by opportunities to help, or allowing chances to forgive to pass us by, we would respond in love. We would know what it is to live like Jesus and to see through His eyes. In each moment we would discover the Kingdom of God. What a breathtaking opportunity we have been given! Jesus is there every second of our lives. We dare not waste a moment.