An insignificant incident happened that answered this question for me.

I think of Job in his tragic and painful circumstances. He searched for God but couldn’t find Him. He cried out to God but his cries were unanswered.
His friends accused him of secret sin which he vehemently denied. He wasn’t interested in theological or philosophical answers to his dilemma. He wanted God, and God was strangely silent, even absent in his time of need.

‭Job‬ ‭23:3‬ ‭NLT‬
[3] “If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court….
[8] I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. [9] I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.”

Sometimes, we need God in huge crises and sometimes we call on Him in small but irksome situations. Sometimes God seems farther away than the outer limits of the universe and sometimes He feels very near.

My little need was infinitessimally small compared with other people’s experiences but… the answer that came made a huge impression on me.

I had been shopping for weekly requirements which included shopping for an elderly friend. It’s my practice to put all the till slips into a plastic sleeve to reconcile my bank statement with my spending tracker when I got home. I also needed the till slips to claim a refund for my friend’s weekly needs.

Came the time to do the reconciliation, my little plastic packet of till slips was nowhere to be found. I searched all the places it could have been in my home but it was missing. I looked outside to see whether I had dropped it on my way in but…nothing.

I whispered a prayer to the Lord and, instantly, I had a clear impression in my mind, not words, just a thought. “Look in the dustbin.” I had disposed of some trash from my car on my way inside. Did I perhaps throw it into the bin with the trash?

Then the penny dropped. I knew it was there before I even before lifted the dustbin lid! Fortunately, the dustbin bag had just been renewed – it was almost empty. All I did was open the dustbin, move a few items, and there it was!

I was overwhelmed with the intimacy of that moment. Yes, the Holy Spirit was so near, in fact, right within me. He heard my thought-prayer and back came a thought-answer, as insignificant as my need happened to be.

Why did the Holy Spirit answer me? It was not that He answered me that matters. It’s the reason He answered me that is so special. He cares! It mattered to Him that I needed those till slips. Really? Yes, God is so intimately involved in our lives that He cares about the smallest details that affect us.

Where is God? Out there in the universe somewhere? No, He is wherever you want Him to be. He is nearer than you breath or as far away as you have pushed Him. He will never intrude if you shut Him out.
You take the initiative.

‭James‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NLT‬
[8 “Come close to God, and God will come close to you…. ”

David’s meditation in Psalm 139 produced an awareness of God’s nearness and tender care of His child that overwhelmed him. What captured David’s heart was God’s infinite love in blessing, guiding and supporting him through all of life’s doings regardless of his failing fallen humanness.

So it is with us. God know us deeply, intimately, thoroughly, yet He accompanies and supervises every detail of our lives, intervening to meet every need and adjust our direction so that we will arrive at last at our desired destination – His presence forever.

He has planned and recorded every day before we live it. His thoughts about us are inestimably innumerable. We can never count them or get to the end of them.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:17‭-‬18‬ ‭NLT‬‬
[17] “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! [18] I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”

So, let’s just throw ourselves on Him where we are safe.