Do you ever feel invisible? Do you ever wonder why no one is asking you how you are or what you’ve been doing? Do you ever wonder why no one seeks you out to be curious about you and your life?
Psalm 139:7-10 (ESV) says, “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”
Loneliness is epidemic in our world full of people. And, social media turns out not to be really social at all. The world works overtime to dehumanize us. Go figure.
Yet, God is there when our self-placed parameters stretch as far as opposites can be, like heaven and Sheol. There is no depth too extensive to be devoid of God’s grip or His power to guide us and hold us securely. The “wings of the morning” hints at the farthest point east where the sun rises. The “uttermost parts of the sea” hints at the Mediterranean Sea far to the west of Israel. As far as east is from west, there is still no hiding from God’s gaze or interest. No hiding from His Sovereign control or love. No hiding from His loving care for His Creation or for His desire to re-humanize us when we are at our loneliest and most invisible points.
We like to think we can escape God’s bubble, but we can’t. We think we are alone and autonomous, but in reality we are still operational in God’s world. Our operations might be rebellious and unbelieving, but we are still hemmed in by God’s permissions and boundary lines. He sees us and He thinks about us. We are never “out of sight, out of mind.”
God sees us, knows our every intention and action, and is so near to us that the minute we call upon Him, there is no lag between our cry and His response. Although He doesn’t respond in sky-writing, He instantly dissolves the spiritual barriers between the east and west of our wandering hearts, as the heaven and Sheol contrast indicates. Even when we hesitate to call upon Him, He stands at the door ready to enter and has been there all along, seeing us and thinking about us.
Job 42:1-5 says, “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.”
As we are never out of God’s sight or out of God’s mind, He is faithful to answer when we call to Him. And then we can honestly say in return that God is never out of our sight. God is never out of our minds. Then, we can be truly human again.
Photo Credit: Ro Seaman
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