“Am I only a God nearby,”
Jeremiah 23:23-24 NIV
declares the LORD,
“and not a God far away?
Who can hide in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the LORD.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the LORD.
Many of the false gods people have worshipped throughout history, including Jeremiah’s time, were limited in both time and space. They could travel from place to place, but only one place at a time. However, that is not true of God. One of his attributes is omnipresence – he is everywhere, and his presence fills the creation. And being everywhere, is there anything he does not know? An attribute we call omniscience.
These two verses come amid a passage where God, through Jeremiah, called out false prophets who claimed to speak in God’s name. God is telling these false prophets that he knows what they are doing and saying. Nothing is hidden from him. And these false prophets would be held accountable for what they are telling the people.
But this short passage does not just apply to false prophets. Each of us has our secret places, the inner recesses of our hearts and minds. The thoughts, feelings, and motives we keep hidden from other people. And we are often guilty of thinking they are also hidden from God.
God knows what is in my secret places. I cannot hide them from him. God knows all the ugliness that I keep locked away inside. He knows the unhealthy thoughts and feelings I struggle with. And he knows why I act and respond the way I do. Even better than I do.
Yet all too often, when I come before him, I pretend that ugliness is not there—that all is well. How much better is it to admit to him what he already knows? And to seek his help in taking out the garbage. Only then can I be truly clean, having an undivided heart and mind that honors and pleases my Lord.
