“Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off?
Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? Says the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord”
Jeremiah 23:23-24
Today we see our God is a God of rhetorical questions.
God is bluntly and not at all subtly reminding the people of Israel that when things get bad, that doesn’t mean God isn’t there.
Oh this is hard.
Because sometimes when things are bad we go there.
We think God isn’t with us anymore.
That God being with us means things are going our way.
And all these bad things mean that God must have lost track of us for a little bit.
Or maybe we’ve believed in this God up in heaven, kind of watching things roll around here, and stepping in now and again when he feels like it.
Ick.
ICK ICK ICK
That does not sound like a loving God.
That is not the God who speaks to us today through this verse.
The Israelites were in exile.
They were struggling.
And things were bad. Really bad.
So bad that they began to doubt God.
To lose their faith that God was with them, and that God would continue to take care of them and sustain them.
They started to wonder of God even loved them anymore.
Been there.
Maybe you’re there now.
If you are – you’re in good and plentiful company.
And then God spoke to them –
Aren’t I a nearby God? Right? Not a far away one?
Is there anyplace I cannot see you?
Aren’t I able to be anywhere and everywhere?
It’s one big epic mic drop from God.
BOOM.
There is nothing God cannot do, there is nothing God cannot see, there is nowhere God cannot be.
Say that out loud. It’s a big promise that needs to be spoken and heard:
There is nothing God cannot do,
there is nothing God cannot see,
there is nowhere God cannot be.
We have a BIG God.
No matter what our problems are, no matter how bad things seem, God does not and will not leave you alone.
Our God is a nearby God.
I just love that phrase: “a nearby God”
The Hebrew word is קָרוֹב (qarowb)
And it means to be near, at hand, and (my favorite) next to.
God isn’t somewhere else, watching and waiting, God is here, with you, next to you.
God is here.
We have a nearby God.
And that nearby God isn’t small.
We have a big, nearby God.
And that big nearby God isn’t unaware of what you are going through and dealing with.
We have a knowing, big, nearby God.
What a promise.
There is nothing God cannot do,
there is nothing God cannot see,
there is nowhere God cannot be.
