thinking bible.

You asked

how do other biblical texts speak of god's presence in creation or beyond human understanding?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Psalm 139:7-12

Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night;" even the darkness doesn't hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.

This passage is from a psalm, a type of ancient Hebrew poetry, attributed to David. It's a deeply personal reflection on God's omnipresence and omniscience, expressing both awe and comfort at the inescapable nature of God's presence throughout all of creation, even in places humans might consider beyond reach or understanding.

What does this passage suggest about the places or circumstances where you might unexpectedly encounter a sense of the divine?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Jeremiah 23:23-24

    This prophetic text directly asks, 'Am I a God at hand, says Yahweh, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him?' reinforcing God's omnipresence.

  • Isaiah 40:28

    This verse speaks of God as 'the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth,' emphasizing a cosmic understanding beyond human comprehension.

  • Acts 17:27-28

    Paul, addressing Athenians, states, 'he isn't far from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being,' connecting divine presence to human existence itself.

Ask your own follow-up