This question suggests a situation of despair. It suggests that God is not visible to the eyes of the soul or that God’s presence is unnoticeable in our relationship with him. In either case, the end result is emptiness or loneliness or an isolation of the soul. A quickened soul will always discern the absence of God’s presence. David faced a similar situation and said in Psalms 63: 1, O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We also make this statement when we desire to restore a broken relationship with God.
Why we cannot find God
In explaining why we cannot sometimes find God, Isaiah 59: 1-2 said, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather, your iniquities have been barriers between you and our God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. God also said in Proverbs 1: 26-28, I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.
Jesus who could not find or feel God’s presence because of our sins which was laid on him said on the cross in Matthew 27: 46, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? That is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Without a worthy relationship with God through Christ Jesus, in most situations when we cry, expecting his divine intervention to correct our unpleasant situation, God will most likely not answer us. God demonstrated this fact with Christ Jesus when he was on the cross.
When Joel was interceding for the people of Israel at the time they could not find God or had been disconnected from God and were facing calamities for their sins, and were being mocked among the nations, Joel said to God in Joel 2: 17, why should it be said among the people, where is their God? Very surprisingly, God is always near us yet he could be so far from us based on our relationship with him. So, how close is he to us?
God is in our bodies
God is so close to us than we can ever imagine. He dwells in our bodies by the Holy Spirit. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6: 19, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? So, rather than crying where are you, Lord, we must take an introspection of our inner self where God dwells and in the silence of the souls, confess to him in penitence. Noise is not the solution but the connectivity based on righteousness of the soul.
Again, only those who have the same spirit as God will find him because they are one with him and belong to him. Romans 8: 9 says but you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. We must not be in the flesh (enclave of sin) but in the spirit (world of holiness) because that is where God dwells. The spirit of Christ Jesus brings along and enables God’s presence with us. Jesus said in Matthew 28: 20 I am with you always, to the end of the age. We need this rather than the world of the flesh.
We may also always find God at the doors of our hearts, his dwelling place. The bible says of Christ Jesus in Revelation 3: 20, listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Jesus is standing at the door of the heart which is within us. He is already within us and knows all the happenings in our lives so he keeps knocking until we open. We can only hear him knocking if we have a sober and penitent spirit that is always vigilant or alert. Anytime we are looking for Jesus, we must check the door of our hearts where he is patiently standing. We have the choice to open and find him or deny him with emptiness. Are we sensitive to his voice as was Samuel in 1 Samuel 3: 10?
God is in Christ Jesus
God also dwells in Christ Jesus through whom he works and reveals himself. John 14: 10; 17: 21 said do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. In effect a call on one is a call on the inseparable Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, whilst any call on the three is a call on the triune invisible God. Jesus repeated this mystery in prayer in John 17: 21. Jesus said in John 10: 30 the Father and I are one. We do not need to look elsewhere for God but Christ Jesus in purity.
God is in his word
God always dwells in his word because he is his word. John 1: 1 says in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God. We find God in his word written or unwritten e.g. prophecy. It is his Spirit that became the written Word. Without his Spirit, the Word would not have come into being. We know and feel everything about God from his Word. Whoever denies the word denies God. Jesus said in John 14: 10, the words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. We understand the word by the Holy Spirit not with the mind. Colossians 3: 16 says let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
God is in heaven
There are countless biblical references which mention the fact that God dwells in heaven. The references include Genesis 24: 7; 1 King 8: 30, 39, 43, 49; 2 Chronicles 6: 21, 30, 33, 39; Matthew 5: 16; Mark 11: 25. The psalmist wrote in Psalms 11: 4, the Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. It means when we deride the church, we will miss God. Habakkuk 2: 20 says, the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him! God speaks to us from his temple so we must be attentive when we visit his holy temples or churches.
God is present in our neighbours
God may be found in kindness. Jesus speaking of the separation of the sheep and the goats said in Matthew 25: 34-46 (paraphrased) to those who were kind to others he said, just as you were kind to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. However, to the wicked, he said, just as you were not kind to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. God came to live among men, John 1: 14. God manifests also through strangers, Hebrews 13: 2. God promised the Israelites that he will dwell among them, Leviticus 26: 11. Indeed God is everywhere. Are we genuinely asking for God? He wants our hearts to be ready for his visit. Shall we let him in now or it may be too late?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, just as a deer pants for water, so do we pant for your care to fill our emptiness. Help us to find you with a change of heart so we may be full and filled by the Holy Spirit. Prepare our hearts to be sensitive to your voice so we may respond to your call as Samuel did. Open our sight to see you, and prepare our hearts to receive you. Cleanse us in your precious blood and keep us in your presence in your holy name, Amen!!
