If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. Amos 9:2
Read: Amos 9
Devotion: You’ve probably heard the age-old question, “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?” A materialistic worldview can give no clear answer to the question. Although science would posit that the tree would in fact make a sound because there are clear forces at work compelling the tree downward, and in the natural order of things sounds are made when things fall, particularly heavy things like trees.
However, a naturalistic worldview cannot give a definitive answer to the question because there is no proof that the tree really made a sound. There were no “ear-witnesses” to the event, and thus the answer is non-falsifiable. This question is is intended to be deep philosophical inquiry that causes us to think about the subjectivity of our perception and our view of reality. That’s all well and good except that the question itself is complete hogwash.
The question is nonsensical because as the verse above (Amos 9:2) reflects, there can be no instance of a tree falling in a forest with no one around to hear it. God is in that forest observing and hearing the tree make the sound that trees were designed to make when they fall in a forest. As Amos 9 teaches us, God is omnipresent and transcends space, which means he cannot be contained and has no size or dimensions (1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23-24). Before matter and space existed, God eternally was (Gen 1:1).
To properly understand God’s omnipresence we must realize that God is not just larger than creation as if he was a larger box that contained all of creation. To use that metaphor to describe God’s omnipresence would put a limit on God that he does not possess. God cannot be thought of in spatial terms because He has no limit. He does not merely surround around his creation as a box does its contents. As Paul writes in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is…One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Between every mote of dust, God is present. Between every electron and bond and particle, God is fully present in all of his greatness and glory. Thus, as Amos 9:2-4 and Psalm 139:7-12 reveal, there is no place, whether physical or spiritual, that one can flee from the presence of the Lord. He is a direct eyewitness to everything that takes place.
Knowing this, how do you live? Maybe these truths aren’t new to you, but the question remains: How do you live? There is a phrase taken from the Latin translation of Psalm 56:13 which is simply ‘coram deo.’ It means ‘before God,’ and it is used as an exhortation to remind the believer that he is ever living before the face of God.
What does this imply? Where are you when you sin? Do you go to your room and try to hide? Do you lock your bedroom door? Do you go into the recesses of your heart and think wicked things? God is in each of these places. In every location where you thought sin was private and that no one saw you do it and no one was hurt, you were before the very face of God.
As to the age-old question of “If you sin alone in the privacy of your room or the seclusion of your heart, do you really sin?” The answer is an emphatic, “Yes!” Does this truth not magnify how wicked sin is? Sin is not a secret plot of treason done in some obscure alley or the back room of a seedy bar. Sin is open rebellion in the face of the sovereign Lord of creation. In light of this, what are we to do?
Remember, as God told Judah in Amos 9:2, there is no where we can hide from God’s judgment. Therefore, fleeing from him is futile. What we must do is flee to him. As God constantly calls throughout Scripture, we are to fall on His grace and mercy which he has provided for us through Christ (Joel 2:12-14; Acts 2:37-38). We must run to him and rest unfailingly on Christ’s finished work on our behalf. As we do this, let us remember that we ever live before the face of God and thus act and think accordingly. For, as Psalm 56:13 tells us, this was the very purpose of our salvation: “For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”
Ponder and Pray: Consider how you can practically remind yourself and others that we are always living before the face of God. Finish by praising him for his mercy and grace in Christ.
