Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Where Could I Go?" for Monday, 14 July 2014 - Read Psalm 139:1-12

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Where Could I Go?" for Monday, 14 July 2014 - Read Psalm 139: A David Psalm
1-6 God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
The psalmist wrote, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?”(Psalm 139:7 (NRSV))
Nestled in the Himalayas and bordered by Nepal, Tibet, and China, Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain in the world — 29,035 feet in height. Yet some mountain climbers have made it to the top. Other adventurers have explored earth’s deepest caverns. Krubera-Voronja is located near where Western Asia and Eastern Europe intersect. Scientists have recorded the depth of this vast cave at 7,188 feet. Some places in our world, however, are still untouched by humans. But since God created our world, God is in all places on this globe and in the heavens. Why, then, do we think we can go somewhere God will not be? The psalmist realized he could not hide from God’s presence. Likewise, we cannot be called by God into a circumstance or place where God doesn’t precede us. What a wonderful truth to remember! After all, God said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5), and Jesus reminded the disciples, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). These assurances can enable us to live as faithful servants of our loving God.
The Author: Peter D. Mallett (Virginia, USA)
Thought for the Day: God is with us in the heights and the depths of our lives.
Prayer: Dear Lord, everywhere we go we see your immeasurable creativity. We pray that you open our minds and spirits to the possibilities of what you want to do in our lives. Amen.

Prayer focus: Mountain climbers
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