He’s Got Your Back
A man decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started in San Francisco and headed east. Going to a large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He noticed a golden telephone on the wall in the fellowship room with a sign above it that read $10,000 per minute.
Curious, he found the Pastor and questioned him about it. The Pastor told him it was a direct line to Heaven and if he pays the price he can talk to God. The man thanked the Pastor and left. He moved on and visited churches in Seattle, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, and Chicago, finding more phones with the same signs and the same answers from the Pastor.
Finally he arrived in Indiana. Upon entering a church in Lafayette, he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time the sign above it read 35 cents per minute. Fascinated, he talked to the Pastor, telling about all the other golden phones he had seen in other churches in other cities, about how he had been told it was a direct line to Heaven and how he could talk to God for $10,000 per minute, but here the charge was only 35 cents per minute. How can this be?
The Pastor smiled and replied, “Son, you’re in Indiana now…it’s a local call.”
That’s a funny story, but it makes a person think. Is God located right here in Indiana and that’s why it’s a long distance call from anywhere else? I don’t think so. God is “Omnipresent”. That’s one of those $1.95 words that means God is “present everywhere at the same time”. Another definition of “Omnipresence” is that we are surrounded by God’s presence. That is what the Psalmist is referring to when he asks the questions in verse 7, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.”
God is everywhere. There is no place you or I can go that God is not there and has not been there, waiting for us to arrive. Remember Jonah? He tried to flee the presence of the Lord. The Lord goes, “Psst, hey Jonah, You can run, but you can’t hide.” “If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”
It does not matter where you run to, how fast you run to get there, if you go under the cover of darkness, how many twists and turns you make, how you cover your tracks, IT DOESN’T MATTER, God is always there with you.
One of my favorite sayings is, “We are never alone, because I can take God with me and leave Him there with you.” God is everywhere, and He is always with us. God is here with us today. He will be in your car with you as you’re driving home (kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?). He will be with you at your job. He’ll be with you at the dinner table, on the golf course, in the garden, at the grocery store, at the beauty shop, out in the fields, when you’re happy, sad, at all times, and in all situations. God is everywhere and He is always with us.
Another $1.95 word is “Omniscience”, which means God is “all knowing”. God not only is with us all the time; He also knows everything about us. We are an open book before God. And God is a thorough investigator. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me.” God knows everything about us. There is nothing that is hidden from God.
He knows everything we do: “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.”
He knows everything we think: “you discern my thoughts from far away.”
He knows everywhere we go: “You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.”
He knows everything we say: “Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord,
you know it completely.”
God knows the hairs of your head, your future, your past. Here’s another saying for you: Character is what you have when no one’s watching. But just remember God’s watching. He knows what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I know that makes many of you feel uncomfortable. Maybe the thought of God knowing your secrets makes you squirm in your seat a little. And maybe you’re wondering who turned up the heat in this place. On the one hand the fact that God knows all things is really scary, but on the other hand it’s very comforting.
It’s comforting that God knows us so well because we can rest easy in the fact that, if God knows us this well, He will never forget us.
Babe Ruth, maybe one of the greatest sport figures of all time, was not exactly noted as a Sunday school teacher. An incident for which he received much publicity involved 11 year old Johnny Sylvester. The boy had been kicked in the head by a horse and doctors feared it might be fatal. Johnny told his father, Horace, a Manhattan banker, "I wish I could see Babe Ruth wallop a homer before I die."
A telegram went off to the New York Yankees in St. Louis, where they were playing the Cardinals in the 1926 World Series.
Back came autographed balls from both Yankees and Cardinals, including one the Babe had inscribed, "I’ll hit a home run for you in Wednesday’s game." He hit 3 of them! The doctors called the effect on the boy’s condition a miracle. Some months later, during Spring training, an uncle of Johnny’s approached Ruth and thanked him profusely. Ruth politely asked, "How is Johnny?" The uncle said Johnny was doing fine, then he left. Ruth turned to the reporters and asked, "Who the [blankety-blank] is Johnny Sylvester?"
God knows us and will never forget who we are!
Isn’t it great to have someone in your life that really knows you - a wife, a husband, a best friend? I guess I’m fortunate because I have a wife who is also my best friend. Wendy knows me better than any one except God. She knows by my expressions or answers I give her how I feel about something. She can tell when to push me some and when to back off and let me deal with something in my own way. She knows pretty much how I will react to a question or in a given situation. She can even finish my sentences or thoughts. Just this week I was getting dressed and decided to wear black shorts & a black t-shirt. She said, “You can’t wear brown sandals with that.” While I was processing that statement, she responded as I would have eventually, “Watch me.” Oh yeah, I DID wear my brown sandals. That’s why she picks out my outfit every Sunday!
The best thing about having someone who really knows you is the tremendous sense of freedom it brings. With Wendy I can be myself more than with anyone else. I can do things or say things that I would never say to anyone else because she knows and accepts me (somewhat). You see, “A friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you just the same.” She knows and accepts me but she loves me enough to try and help me improve and become better at things. Because she loves me. That’s the same type of love God has for us.
A wonderful hymn talks about that type of friendship. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, has the lines, “Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer” and “In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.” God knows us, warts and all, and still loves us and will hold us close and protect us.
God created us. He put us together in His image. He knows where all the parts are and why He put them where they are. The heart is in the right place to do it’s job. The liver, kidneys, pancreas, everything in our bodies is in the right place to do the jobs they are designed to do. The brain sends the signals to the right place at the right time to make everything work together in harmony. He gave us our thought processes. He created in us the ability to think, love, and learn. So it stands to reason that if God knows us this intimately He can take care of us perfectly. God uses His knowledge of everything we do, think, say, and everywhere we go to provide providential protection. “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” We are surrounded by God’s protection. “Behind and Before”. All the way around, we are covered.
I love westerns and in the old west during the big gun battle, someone, before moving to a new location to continue shooting, would always say the line, “Cover me”. The others might say, okay, we’ll cover you. And they would then shoot furiously to “protect” their partner as he moved. In today’s lingo, the phrase “we’ll cover you” has become “we’ve got your back”, which means that we need have no fear of anyone attacking us from behind or surprising us. “We’ve got your back,” means that our wife, husband, partner, teammate, etc. will stick up for you, back you up, support you, and protect you. And as much as those people love you, God loves you even more and, because of that love, we are surrounded by God’s protection. He’s got our backs.
And it’s not like we don’t know this but WHY?
We know that God is Omnipresent and Omniscient, so why do we try to hide?
We know that God can do all things, so why do we say we can’t?
We know that God is the light, so why do we choose to walk in darkness?
We know that God has forgiven us, so why can’t we forgive ourselves?
We know that God is the creator, so why do we wonder who will destroy?
We know that God will protect us, so why do we fear?
God’s love and protection is mentioned all through the Bible. God had the Israelite’s backs as they fled Egypt. God had Gideon’s back at the battle against the Midianites. God had Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego’s backs in the fiery furnace. God had Daniel’s back in the lion’s den. God had David’s back against Goliath. And He’s got our backs, too.
