Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, (16) for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. (17) He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:15-17-NLT)
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! (Psalms 139:1-6-NLT)
Some time ago while on a fairly long cycling trip I was listening to a book by A.W. Tozer entitled The Attributes of God. Tozer mentioned that God is so vast and big that He is difficult to comprehend. Tozer mentioned that God dwells in eternity. God has no beginning since He is the Creator, not the created. He has always existed from eternity past. Tozer mentioned that God has no end. An ending has to do with time, and God is eternal. He exists outside of the time/space continuum.
Jesus said, Before Abraham was, I am…(John 8:58). God appeared to Abraham in the burning bush and when Moses asked who He was, God said, I Am that I Am (Exodus 3:14). That’s another way of saying, “I am Eternal, with NO beginning or ending. I exist outside of time.”
The above verse in Colossians mentions that Jesus existed before everything, and that He holds all of creation together. Scientists tell us that our bodies are made of billions of individual molecules that are actually not connected. And scientists tell us that there is a protein called Laminin that holds the molecules of the body together. Interestingly, some say that it has the shape of a cross. Again, Jesus holds all things together.
So, think of it this way. God is everywhere in the universe. His Presence is equal everywhere. His Presence is just as strong ten billion light years from us in a far away galaxy as it is in the room where you are. God IS. He exists outside of creation, yet His presence is within ALL of creation.
When I think this way, it brings two thoughts to me. First, God is so much BIGGER than I can humanly understand. It brings a deeper meaning perhaps to 1 John 4:4: You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world. Since God is so BIG, I can trust Him with my comparably small problems.
Secondly, God is close to me. He surrounds me, holds me together, knows everything that can be known about me, and still deeply loves me. The practical application of this is that I can pour my heart out to this Infinite, Everywhere God, who knows me better than anyone ever could. He sees my thoughts, my motives, my hurts, my disappointments, my desires, my ambitions, my fears, my hopes, my dreams, my insecurities, my inconsistencies, as well as my strengths, my abilities, my skills, and my faith.
One time in a church service in the church I pastor I was standing there worshiping with everyone else, and I became aware that 1) God was so wanting to be with us and was excited that we took time to be with Him and 2) that so many people had walls up around their lives due to past pain and were afraid to let God into their personal stuff. In my mind, I saw God rushing with enthusiasm to commune with each person, and then I saw people standing rigidly, hardly moving. They were stoic, unfeeling figures standing like statues, unresponsive to God’s manifest Presence. And at the same time, I could feel God’s great desire to help them let the walls down that the personal pain of living in a cold, sometimes heartless world had produced.
Our Father God is both infinite and personal at the same time. He knows us from the inside out, and has a deep desire to free us from every hurt, every pain, every disappointment, and every fear. You can trust Him with your most hidden issues. He is already there, ready to meet you in your pain points, and free you from the walls that keep Him and others out. His deep desire is your freedom.
Take some time today to get to a quiet place, and talk to God your Father. He is ready to listen, and to help. Hebrews 4:13-16 (KJV) sums it all up. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (14) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. (15) For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.