Subscription Lists
The Way
by Kevin Pauley
Your presumptuous heart has deceived you, you who live in clefts of the rock in your home on the heights, who say to yourself: Who can bring me down to the ground? Though you seem to soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down. This is the LORD's declaration. – Obadiah 1:3-4 HCSB
Amazingly, Obadiah foresaw the possibility of space travel, warning Edom that even soaring like an eagle and making their nest among the stars was not a God-proof strategy.
It’s odd how often this concept of escaping God comes up in history. Jonah thought that going from Joppa to Tarshish would be enough.[1] Nikita Khruschev, before sending cosmonauts into space, declared that the Soviet Union was sending men into outer space and if they found God there, they would topple him from his throne.
God is omnipresent. He is equally present in and aware of every spatial point of the universe simultaneously. God does not merely live on earth. The heavens themselves cannot contain Him.[2] Where could we go from His Spirit? Where could we flee from His presence? If we go up to the heavens, He is there. If we make our beds in the depths, there He is. If we rise on the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea, even there will be His guiding hand, holding us tightly in His loving grasp.[3] He is not merely a God who is nearby, but also a God who is far away. There are no secret places where we can hide from His all-seeing eyes. Elah Sh’maya V’Arah fills both the earth and the heavens. In Him, we live, breathe and have our being.[4] For the tzaddikim, this is a comforting truth. We are never far from our Shepherd and Friend. Even in the depths of Sheol, our Guide is within range.
Ah, but for the unrighteous – what frustration this must present. Their position, power or social status will be meaningless on the great day of God’s wrath. They will hide themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They will cry out to those rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?"[5] Who indeed?
How exactly does one hide from a God who is able to resurrect the dead? What hope is there for the unrighteous dead, though their bodies lie in the depths of the Marianas Trench? There is no hiding, even in Hades.[6]
There is only one place to hide – in the arms of the one we call the Christ.[7] Your choice: in His arms now or on your knees later when it’s too late.[8]
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "The Way" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.