Day 210/365- Isaiah 66:1-2

"So far away & yet so close"

This is what the Lord says:
"Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.
I, the Lord , have spoken!
"I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
who tremble at my word. (Isaiah 66:1, 2 NLT)

Growing up, I literally thought God lived in the church building. I guess my childlike mind didn't think beyond my church. This is not entirely my faulty thinking involved here though.

At my church, people often referred to the building as God's house or the "house of the Lord." And so, I thought God lived there. That's a logical conclusion. I lived at my house, God lived at his.

But as this passage states, God cannot be confined to a church building or temple. Not even the sky can contain him! He is high & lifted up. He is huge. He is beyond our wildest dreams. He cannot be contained. The best way to describe how exalted he is, is to say that heaven is his throne & the earth is his footstool. In other words, God uses the earth for an ottoman. He made the earth & the heavens. He used his own imagination to create everything we see.

But this is not the only picture we get of our God here, however. He is exalted. He is high & lifted up. He is uncontainable. But he is also extremely close. Well, close to a certain group of individuals.

The ESV says it this way, "But to this one I will look." God is high & holy but also looks to the humble & contrite & those who tremble at his word. This is a huge & amazing mystery. God uses the earth for his footstool & yet dwells with the humble of heart that tremble at his word.

God is near & far at the same time. He is exalted & close. He is uncontainable & yet confines himself to our world regularly.

God has ultimately come near in his Son. Taking on flesh so that he could dwell among us. And he still dwells with the lowly & humble. Those that admit their need for him are forgiven of their sins & brought into his family so that he can dwell with them.

How do we know God? As just far, or close & far? As exalted AND near? It's not too late to admit our need of him & humble ourselves with contrite hearts & tremble at his word.