In Us and Everywhere Present!

I’ll have to admit that I was a little bummed after looking at the forecast for our mountain location - rainy Thursday & Friday morning/evening. Even though I can be content to sit on the deck and observe, I do like to do some walking in the area. Nevertheless, we were on our way to God’s place of holiness for me. And I knew that I would be content with what He had in store for me.

We had a delayed start on Thursday morning due to the engine light appearing on the instrument panel and blinking as well as the car shaking a little. By this time we were 9 miles from Danville. Called Moore’s Chevrolet Service Dept, and decided we should return to let them check out things. They did, and we were back on the road about 12:30pm.

After entering NC, we drove through some incredibly heavy rainfall and approached a very menacing-looking cloud over the road. Get a good look at this picture! What were we going through?? At first, I was pretty impressed with the quality of the picture, but then, shall I say a little “fear” entered my thoughts? Glad my superhero, Mike, was driving!

By the time we reached the cabin, the sun was out. Praise God! However before too long, the clouds began to roll in, leading to more rain. The movements of the lower clouds were mesmerizing. I sat on the deck watching the clouds roll in and over the mountains, both close by and far away. It was so spectacular to watch the clouds actually moving, but as I watched the video I took, I could hardly see the movement.

The landscape was changing every 5 minutes. I couldn’t take pictures fast enough to capture the majesty of it all. One moment, the closest mountain was fully covered or invisible with clouds. The next, it was only partially covered with clouds as some had moved on by the soft breezes. I felt that God was telling me about His omnipresence (infinity, boundless, all-present, present everywhere).

Scripture tells us that God dwells in us:

Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:19 ...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (NKJV)

And scripture tells us that God is always with each of us wherever we are:

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [a]hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. (NKJV)

God, is this for real? Of course, it is because your Word is real, and I believe your Word.

“The Bible teaches that God is everywhere present—omnipresent. In every place in the universe God is present. He is not limited by space.” God is Everywhere

I felt that God was showing me through the example of the clouds that He not only dwells IN us but is everywhere present. The clouds were moving across the tops of the mountains and then into the valleys; in large sizes of clouds and small patches; to the left and to the right; quickly and slowly; interweaving among the individual trees of each mountain and covering the entire mountain from above.

Then on Saturday morning, which was the most beautiful day, there was plenty of sunshine, cumulus clouds here and there, and a temperature of 76 degrees with a slight breeze. Perfection! While watching this magnificent scene and listening to the birds, I saw shadows on the various mountains - some were large and some were very small. They were created by the clouds which had drifted into the path of the sun’s rays and cast shadows below.

Again I heard God’s voice in Psalm 91:1-2:

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

I pray that you can visualize what I have described. This is how God shares with me and teaches me - through examples in nature, scripture, devotionals, and conversations. Basically I saw God showing me how He has us taken care of - His covering on the outside and His residence on the inside. He loves us so much that He has us covered and protected inside and out! What an awesome God we love and serve.

Thanks for stopping by,

Rachel