As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you … . Isaiah 66:13
How far away is God? Tough question, right? Even pondering an answer brings a host of other questions like: How do you measure distance between you and God—miles or kilometers as we measure distance? Or should we measure distance in terms of light years as a scientist measures the distance between us and the heavenly bodies?
Accepting the account of Genesis 1, which begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” we would assume that God is larger than anything He has created. In other words, the creator of anything has to be greater, more intelligent, even more powerful than that which he has created. But even that admission creates some rather large problems for many people.
For example, as they ponder the vastness of creation, they feel absolutely lost in a sea of insignificance. A pilot friend of mine expressed that feeling as he related flying at an altitude of 7 miles above the surface of the earth, seeing cities of 10 to 12 million people flash by in a few minutes or seconds thinking, “How could God—way up there somewhere—look down on all those little creatures down there and know what’s happening in their lives, to say nothing about being concerned about them individually?”
When he was on the moon as part of the Apollo program, astronaut Jim Irwin drove a Lunar Module craft, dubbed the million-dollar golf cart by critics. Jim told me that if you were standing on the moon and you looked back towards planet Earth, if you held your hand at arms length, the earth would be about the size of the average man’s thumb nail.
But I’ve never been on the moon. Can I believe Irwin? Of course! I accept his word at face value. Now think of it—the earth, not much bigger than the size of a postage stamp from just 229,000 miles away. But how far away is God?
Mistake #1: Thinking that God is bound by the same laws of time and space as we mortals. The Bible makes it clear that God is not a man, nor is He limited by the physical laws that limit us. He made those laws, but He is above them.
Mistake #2: Confusing space with value. Certainly, the universe is large, but God’s children are of more importance than empty space. Visualize a childless couple with a 20-room house filled with antiques and priceless paintings of the world’s greatest artists. Then a little child comes into their lives, a baby. A child is born, and an upstairs bedroom becomes the nursery. If a fire should break out, is the father concerned with the tapestries on the walls or the oriental rugs on the floor? No, the smell of smoke would send him scurrying to save the life of his tiny son. Space isn’t important; people are.
Mistake #3: Limiting God. In my possession is a little piece of silicon and plastic called fiber optical cable. It’s what has replaced old-fashioned telephone lines. The scientist who gave it to me says that 60,000 conversations can take place at the same time—all passing through that conduit. I don’t understand how it works; I take his word for it by faith.
Mistake #4: Failing to know how important you are to our Heavenly Father. How do you learn this? Through the testimonies of men fully human who recorded the message of God’s love and care in the pages of the Bible. They tell us precisely how far away God is: As close as your heart cry, but as far away as your unbelief.
Resource reading: Psalm 19:1-14
