Our scripture this morning is Psalm 139:7-12.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
In this passage we hear both a blessing and a caution. The psalmist asks “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” The answer is of course, nowhere. The Creator who made everything that exists knows where we are at all times.
Paul writes “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing other than our own choice can ever isolate us from the love and care of God, and even then, His love and care for us endures.
In Genesis 3:9 we read “But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Adam and Eve are “hiding” because they are ashamed. God knows where they are and what they have done, but even in this betrayal, God’s love is there for them. We can’t find a place, time or situation in which to run away from God, He is always there and no matter what, He loves us all.
Gracious God, we are grateful for Your mercy, offered when we have fallen into sin. Help us to be close to You at all times through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. Amen.