Near? Or not?

Am I a God nearby, says the Lord, and not a God far off?  Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? say the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.  (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

We believe God is close by, don't we? In our hearts? In our rooms? In our churches? In our cities? In our offices? At our tables?  I think that we say we believe that, but I'm not always sure that we act as if we believe it.

When was the last time you were in a church committee meeting and felt that those who were in the room with you (and yourself) were speaking and acting as if God was sitting in the room with you? That God was a part of your conversation? How would your deliberation and decisions change if you acted on what you believe?

When was the last time you filtered your prayers to not include those actions for which you are ashamed? Keeping a secret? Do we not believe that God knows what we have done? How we feel?  Who are we trying to fool?  God? Maybe ourselves?

Do we act as if God is walking with us? Do we treat people with love and kindness? Or do we ignore them, or hurt them? 

Is God a God who is near? Or far away?