 |
| Lassen Volcanic National Park in Mineral, California |
When I photograph sunrises and sunsets, snow-capped
mountains, giant Redwood trees in ancient forests, beautiful gardens, etc. I often think of the words found in Genesis
28:16: “Surely the LORD is in this place.” But there’s more to that verse than
I just quoted. I’ll share the rest of it a bit further down. But first let me
remind us that God is present everywhere,
not just in the beautiful places. For example, God is very present in
hospitals, in homeless shelters, in war zones, and in all kinds of unlikely
places.
David knew about the omnipresence of God, for he said to Him,
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.
If I say, “Surely
the darkness shall cover me,
and the
light about me be night,
even the
darkness is not dark to you;
the night
is as bright as the day,
for darkness
is as light with you.
~Psalm
139:8-12, ESV
God is very present everywhere, even in places no
human eye has ever seen, even in the darkest of places! The problem is that we,
like Jacob, often fail to consider that He could be in unlikely places,
specifically that He could be with us, especially when our lives are anything
but beautiful. So, like Jacob, we must acknowledge, “Surely the LORD is in this
place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16, ESV, emphasis added). Once
we truly sense His presence, then we, like Jacob, will respond to Him in some way. Perhaps we'll praise Him or thank Him. Perhaps we'll beg Him to help us.
