You know that God is everywhere, but don’t you wish you could feel Him sometimes? Don’t you wish you could experience His presence physically instead of just spiritually?

God is omnipresent, which means that He is everywhere at once. He is not confined by walls, limited by space or restricted by the natural laws of the universe.

David describes God’s omnipresence so beautifully in Psalm 139:7-12:

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

It’s amazing that God is everywhere, but just between you and me, doesn’t it sometimes feel like He’s also, well…nowhere. I mean, it’s not like you can touch Him. You can’t hug Him. He’s not going to give you a love pat on your rump after your quiet time huddle and then send you on your way to face the next play in life. How can God be everywhere at once, yet you’re still not able to touch Him?

Basically, there are three ways that God shares His presence with you. The first two are obvious, but the last one will help reconcile the touch-factor.

1. God shares His presence through the Holy Spirit

Before Jesus was crucified, He promised the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you – He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:16-17 NLT). When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit moves in to that person’s life. He serves as an internal, always-accessible comforter, encourager, and teacher to communicate with the believer spiritually just like Jesus communicated physically.

2. God shares His presence through His Word

God’s Word has the supernatural ability to speak to your heart at any time and any place. “For the word of God is alive and active” (Heb. 4:12a NIV). It is through His Word that God can communicate with you, guide you and give you peace.

3. God shares His presence through His people

This is where God’s presence gets physical. We sometimes forget that other believers can be “God with skin on” to us, but they can. God may not come down and physically hug you, but He can send a friend along your path to hug you just when you need it most. He may not kiss you, but when your child sees you crying, He may lead him to kiss your cheek. Each hug, each kiss, each pat on the back can be a touch from God through the arms of His child. Consider this example from one of our Glo Girl Blog readers. Jen is a military wife who has lived in New York, Hawaii, and just about every state in between. She also has to play the role of a single mom whenever her husband is deployed. Here’s what she said:

I had to laugh when I read your “what is God really like” post, especially the line stating “why does it matter when I’m doing the dishes” because it was WHILE doing the dishes about 6 months into Billy’s 2nd deployment that I told God, “I really appreciate that I’m never truly alone because you’re with me, but it’d be really nice if YOU could help with the dishes or the housework some!” Yeah…not the most ‘reverent’ prayer!! But, I learned from that experience that God DOES care and he hears our cries for help even when we don’t express them with the respect he deserves. Within the week, and for no logical reason (other than my selfish prayer), small groups from our church began calling me, offering their services. One group of teenage girls offered free babysitting so I could have some time to myself, another group took care of some much needed garage organization, and another group helped me finish the painting project Billy and I began before the mobilization orders so rudely interrupted our plans!

Isn’t that an amazing example of God’s presence? Not only is He able to be with you in spirit, He is also able to let you experience His physical presence through the actions of His children.

If you’re feeling all alone, begin praying that He will allow you to experience His presence. If you need a hug, pray for a hug. If you need help with the dishes, pray for it. If you need to experience God with skin on, pray for His presence to appear in tangible ways that you can recognize and appreciate.

God is omnipresent. If the universe cannot impose limits on His presence, I doubt your kitchen can either.

Let’s Talk! When have you experienced God’s presence in a tangible way? Share your story in the comments.