When I was a Senior in high school I had an off-campus pass, which meant I could leave campus at any time, but especially at the lunch hour. Occasionally I would jet home to grab some food and, when I did, it seemed my mom always knew, even though she was never home (she worked during the days until school let out). It eventually became my challenge, trying to come home without her knowing… eating, cleaning up fully, and leaving the house as it was. No matter how meticulous I was, though, she would always know. To this day I don’t know how, and she won’t fess up! It was like she was at work and somehow at home at the same time, and this was long before the invention of home cameras that stream over the internet! It was both unsettling and, oddly, comforting to know she was “watching.”

Psalm 139:7-8 establishes the foundational truth that God, unlike my mom, is truly omnipresent; He is present everywhere at the same time. He is not bound by time, space, or geography; He is always entirely present while being over all things, He is in the very midst of our life circumstances yet remains distinct from them. This theological reality is one of the bedrock truths of abiding in Christ.

To abide in Christ means to remain, to dwell, and to settle into a relationship with Him. However, we often treat “abiding” as a spiritual work we must perform to get close to God. These verses flatly contradict that mindset. We do not have to work to bring God into our space; we simply have to embrace the fact that He is already there. We must grasp that when we are on the mountaintop, when life is good and feels natural, and His presence feels like sunlight, He is surely in our midst. But equally, when we feel abandoned, when we are wrestling with sin, or when we feel like we are walking through the “valley of the shadow of death,” the Omnipresent God is just as close. Abiding in Christ means acknowledging His presence in the dark as much as in the light; it means trusting that there is no pit so deep that His Spirit is not deeper still.

To abide effectively, it helps if we understand two aspects of God’s omnipresent nature. First, He is immanent, which means He is near, intimately involved in, and actively moving within our daily lives rather than watching from a distance. Second, He is also transcendent, which means that while He is present in all circumstances, He simultaneously remains distinct from them… outside of and above if you will. Both truths are vital. If God were merely a part of our circumstances, He would change as they change. If He were just bound up in our feelings wherever we find ourselves, He would vacillate based on how we feel. But because He is present in our trials while remaining distinct from them, He can serve as an anchor within them. We are abiding in a Person who sits sovereignly above the earth while simultaneously numbering the hairs on our heads.

A final “reality” to grasp about God’s omnipresence: Fleeing from His presence is a futile pursuit. We can hide from people, and we can even hide from ourselves through distraction, but we cannot hide from the Spirit. Therefore, abiding begins when we stop running and start practicing the presence of God, recognizing that His Spirit is constantly at work. If there is no where we can go to escape Him, then there is no crisis that can separate us from Him. We are never alone. We are never “out of range.” We are never beyond the reach of His hand.

So, let’s land the plane: Abiding in Christ is the simple, daily decision to stop trying to find God through our own efforts and to start acknowledging that He is already present, at all times and in all places. It is resting in the truth that He is the Creator who transcends our problems, yet the Father who inhabits our hearts. Today, let’s take a breath and remember that we do not worship a cold, distant deity. We abide in the One who is already and forever right here and, as such, we can know a secure peace that transcends understanding.