“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9 NLT)

 

God is always present, everywhere, all the time. David celebrated—and explored the implications of—God’s constant presence in Psalm 139:7–12: “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 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. 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. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (NLT).

He personalized God’s presence just as the prophet Amos did. “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” (Amos 3:3 NLT). God said to Amos’ fellow prophet Zephaniah, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs” (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT).

The point is that God is present with His people, and He wants His people to be present with Him. He wants us to keep appointments with Him, to meet with Him on a regular basis. He wants us to prioritize our relationship with Him. He wants us to make the necessary sacrifices to keep that relationship active and growing.

I wonder how many times each day God wants to speak to us but can’t get a word in edgewise. I wonder if He might say, “I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time, but you’re too busy. This morning I wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t have any time for Me. Instead, you read the newspaper, watched TV, and talked on the phone. You never opened My Word. You never prayed. At lunch I tried to say something, but your prayer was too fast. You have an appointment with Me. Why don’t you keep it?”

The book of Genesis tells us that Adam had an appointment with God every day in the Garden of Eden. Adam would hear the voice of the Lord in the Garden in the cool of the evening. One day Adam missed that appointment because of sin. Genesis 3:9 says, “Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (NLT).

I wonder if the Lord would say that to some of us each day: “Where are you? I’ve been looking for you. I want to speak to you. I want you to walk with Me, and I want to walk with you.”

Just imagine, the Creator of the universe wants to spend time with you! Is there any appointment that’s worth keeping more than this one?

 

Reflection question: How do you experience God’s presence in your life?

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