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When God asked Adam “where” he was, He was interested in more than his geographical location.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9)
God’s chief interest is not where our body is, but where our heart stands in relation to Him.
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men (Isaiah 29:13)
God knows when we are running from Him.
Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! (Hosea 7:13)
God knows why we are running from Him.
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:1-3)
God has ways to return us to where we should be.
But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. (Jonah 1:1-4)
David knew he could not flee or hide from God.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalm 139:7-12)
We cannot “get off” God’s “grid.” Both physically and spiritually, He always knows where we’re at.
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)
God saw Asa when he was at his best.
And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. (2 Chronicles 14:2-4)
God warned Asa, and all the people, that He is a “now” God, and they needed to “stay current” with Him.
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:1,2)
Asa’s heart did not continue toward God. He stopped seeking God in a fresh trial that came upon him.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. (2 Chronicles 16:7-9)
We cannot live off yesterday’s “manna.” We need to seek God for “daily bread.”
And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. (Exodus 16:19-21)
God is interested in where we are today, not yesterday.
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. (Ezekiel 33:11,12)
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Revelation 2:1-5)
We must be willing for God to show us where we’re at today, and to repent if He has any correction for us.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23,24)
We depart from God when we harden our heart and refuse to hear what He has to say to us “today.”
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. (Hebrews 3:12-15)
Guilt and shame can cause us to retreat from the voice and presence of God.
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:10)
An unwillingness to repent in those areas the Lord “pinpoints” to us results in our departure from Him.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:22)
Where does God want us to be? He wants us to be in His presence, but we cannot be there if we choose to walk in darkness.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
God has no pleasure in the destruction of those who flee from Him. He would have all men turn away from sin and toward Him. Through the blood of Christ, He has made provision for repentance, forgiveness and cleansing of all sin and shame.
He would then have us meet up with Him continually, as we walk in His light.
He calls us to draw near to Him – in order to find all the help we need to be precisely where He wants us to be in our heart and mind.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
And having an high priest over the house of God;
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)