God Is Always Watching

This week Justin Morton is the writer/speaker for Our Daily Walk.

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2fwg4v

I have often heard young people say, “No one will ever know what I’m doing. There is no way my family will ever find out.” In some cases young people are correct, their parents may never find out about what they are doing. They may even be able to keep things a secret from the people they spend the most time around like their friends. However, one thing is certain. Although what we are participating in may not be public knowledge, it is known by someone and that is God.

God’s eyes are upon man, watching everything he does. One of Job’s friends, Elihu, said it best when he said, “For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps. There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves” (Job. 34:21-22). Did you hear that…there is no darkness or deep shadow where those who are doing evil may hide themselves. God is eternal and omnipresent.

We all need to realize and understand that we cannot hide from God. Even if what we are doing is unknown to men, God still sees and knows. David said, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night, Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You” (Psalm 139:7-12).

What an encouraging and terrifying passage at the same time. David tells of how God is always there no matter where we are. We cannot hide from him. From heaven to sheol, the two vertical extremes to the wings of dawn and the remotes part of the sea, the two horizontal extremes, God is always there. David says that even the darkness is not dark to God and the night is as bright as the day. David’s point is clear, no one can outrun or hide from God. He is always there watching us.

This verse is terrifying because it points out that God sees everything man does. When we say something that intentionally hurts someone’s feelings, God is there. When we are at work and telling an inappropriate joke to our co-workers, God is there. When we sit down at the computer and begin to view images that are both inappropriate and sinful, God is there. When we become involved with someone who is not our spouse, God is there. There is nothing that we can keep God from knowing.

This verse is also encouraging because it points out that God sees everything man does. When we say something that helps to encourage and build someone else up, God is there. When we go to visit those who are sick and in the hospitals, God is there. When we put our arm around one who has just lost a loved one, God is there. When we bow our heads to offer up prayers of thanksgiving, God is there. When we gather on the first day of the week, God is there. Just as God sees everything man does that is evil, God also sees everything man does that is good.

Many people have a misunderstanding about the omnipresence of God. They believe that God is looking down from heaven on the sons of men waiting to place a check next to our names when we do things wrong. Yes, God does notice the sins that we commit. God hates sin and cannot overlook it. But God also desires for us to do good. He notices the good things that you and I do and that makes Him happy.

My hope and prayer is that all of you will come to the realization that God is everywhere-always. He is omnipresent. He watches you everywhere you go and that is something that we should all be thankful for.

Our thought for the day: “Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God’s love and beauty area all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them.”

May God bless you in your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Justin Morton, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.