The LORD is There

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Where can I flee from Your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.”  Psalm 139:7-10

Why couldn’t Jonah run from God? Why couldn’t Adam and Eve hide from God? The answers to these questions can be found in God’s name. The Bible gives God many different names. He is called Creator, LORD, Everlasting, Almighty, King, and Shepherd.  He is called Savior, Redeemer, and Father…just to name a few. In biblical times, a name represented a person’s character. God’s name represents His very nature.

One of the names given to God is Jehovah-Shammah, which means the LORD is there.  A Scottish Christian named Geoffrey Bull (1921-1999) knew God by this name. Chinese Communists imprisoned Bull for three years. In his book God Holds the Key, Bull wrote:

“I had no Bible in my hand, no watch on my wrist, no pencil or paper in my pocket. There was no real hope of release. There was no real hope of life. There was no real possibility of reunion with those I loved. The only reality was my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Divested of all, He was to become everything to me. He was to break my bars and enlarge my coasts in the narrow room. He was to be my fullest nourishment amidst the meager food. ‘My meat,’ which my captors ‘knew not of.’ He would make me glad with His countenance. He would let me hear His voice. As in the days of His nativity, Herod may reign and imagine slaughter against the innocent but let me see His star and I would come to worship Him.”

In that tiny Chinese prison cell, God was there with Geoffrey Bull. He comforted him in his darkest moments.  In the belly of the big fish, God was there with Jonah. Deep among the covering of the trees in Eden, God was there with Adam and Eve. He sought them in their sin and shame.

God is there…Jehovah-Shammah…wherever you are. Whether you are suffering because of your rebellion or because of your obedience…God is there. As the psalmist sings in Psalm 139, you cannot flee from God’s presence. He is in the heights and in the depths.  He is in the light and in the darkness. He is always with you.

LORD, thank You for always being with me. Help me to know, believe, and live the truth that You are all I need. In Jesus’ name, amen.