There are No God Moments: Rethinking Divine Omnipresence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Jeff K. Clarke -------------------------- Let me say it up front - I don't believe there is such a\u00a0thing as a 'God moment.' By 'God moment' I refer to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/11\/04\/there-are-no-god-moments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"There are No God Moments: Rethinking Divine Omnipresence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jeff K. Clarke -------------------------- Let me say it up front - I don't believe there is such a\u00a0thing as a 'God moment.' By 'God moment' I refer to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/11\/04\/there-are-no-god-moments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pangea Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/kurtwillems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-04T18:55:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-04T23:29:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/4\/2014\/11\/God-Moment.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"378\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kurt Willems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kurtwillems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kurt Willems\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/11\/04\/there-are-no-god-moments\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/11\/04\/there-are-no-god-moments\/\",\"name\":\"There are No God Moments: Rethinking Divine Omnipresence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-04T18:55:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-04T23:29:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/ea663ed0aee4001add7b994865d3fc6b\"},\"description\":\"By Jeff K. 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{"id":7644,"date":"2014-11-04T10:55:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T18:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?p=7644"},"modified":"2014-11-04T15:29:20","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T23:29:20","slug":"there-are-no-god-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2014\/11\/04\/there-are-no-god-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"There are No God Moments: Rethinking Divine Omnipresence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

By \u2018God moment\u2019 I refer to the phrase that speaks of those episodes when God is said to suddenly \u2018show up.\u2019 For Christians, the phrase would normally be used in the context of a church service, meeting or conference where God is expected to make an appearance.<\/p>\n

The mindset that produces this kind of top-down theology can be explained this way \u2014<\/p>\n

God, as the wholly-other-than deity of the Old and New Testaments, lives off in space somewhere and periodically decides to come down from his throne to do something spontaneous and powerful. These episodes are often described as \u2018God moments.\u2019<\/p>\n

Divine Omnipresence<\/b><\/p>\n

However, if we spend even a few minutes reflecting on the phrase in light of what we\u2019ve come to believe about God\u2019s presence and activity in the world, oftentimes referred to as omnipresence<\/i>, we will quickly discover that the very idea of a \u2018God moment\u2019 lacks support from the witness of scripture, as well as our day-to-day human experience.<\/p>\n

If our definition of omnipresence says anything at all, it is this \u2013 God is everywhere present at all<\/i> times. To maintain a personal dynamic, one that makes it less abstract and real, God is always present to all<\/i>.<\/p>\n

There is never a time when God is not there, making every moment a \u2018God moment.<\/p>\n

As a result, to intentionally infuse each moment with the awareness of God\u2019s ever-present nearness is to do away with any notion of special interventions.<\/p>\n

Divine Intervention<\/b><\/p>\n

Divine intervention brings with it the idea that God is out there somewhere and we\u2019re here, largely alone, until He arbitrarily decides to show up, often unannounced, to perform some kind of special act.<\/p>\n

The word\u00a0intervention\u00a0<\/i>when used in relation to God speaks of God as being outside of time and space, unaffected by us in any way and only occasionally deciding to drop in for a visit.<\/p>\n

However, if we learn anything at all from Jesus\u2019s incarnation, it is this \u2013 we are not alone. God is not aloof and is very much involved in every detail of our lives \u2013 if we let Him. The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help. He is the Paraclete<\/i>, the one who will never leave us alone.<\/p>\n

And, that\u2019s the key.<\/p>\n

God will be as present to us as we allow Him to be.<\/p>\n

We simply need to remain consistently aware of His eternal nearness. What Greg Boyd refers to as God\u2019s present-perfect presence (from Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now<\/span><\/a>)<\/p>\n

So, let us be aware of God\u2019s ever-present nearness, find Him always in the now<\/i>, and rethink our idea of \u2018God moments.\u2019<\/p>\n

_________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff K. Clarke is a blogger and an award-winning author of articles and book reviews in variety of faith-based publications. He blogs regularly at www.jeffkclarke.com<\/span><\/a> \u2013 creating space to ask questions, stimulate conversation and inspire faith. He is on both\u00a0<\/span>Twitter:\u00a0 www.twitter.com\/jeffkclarke<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook:www.facebook.com\/jeffkclarke<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"