As I'm reading through Jeremiah 9, I see these words: "Oh that I had in the desert a wayfarers' lodging place; that I might leave my people and go from them!" Jeremiah was weary of his people's sin; he wants to escape from all of them. The prophet's words cause me to consider something I don't think I ever have. Process through this with me...
We go through times in our lives--before and after we have surrendered to Christ--when we intentionally want to separate ourselves from the Lord. We don't go to church, we refuse fellowship with the body of Christ, we don't pray, there's no Christian music playing on our radio, and our hearts are void of the emotion we know should be there. We just don't want any part of conviction or change. And even though the Spirit beckons the now child of God, and the whispered Voice is heard, we refuse to lean towards felt Presence.
But,...with the Lord, our presence is always before Him. He see us, no matter how far we want to run from Him. He hears us; He is aware of our every move; He can't escape us. This means He sees our adultery, our greed, and how we proceed from evil to evil. He sees how easily we are deceived, and our refusal to know Him deeper.
Because, if the Psalmist's words are correct, there is no place I can go to be away from God's Spirit. This also means that there is no place God's Spirit can be without mine. And, to take this even further, it has to mean that God planned it this way; that He never wanted to be in a place where I was not. What a staggering thought.
"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" (Psalm 139:7-10)....because God wants to be with me.
