Santa takes after God. At Christmastime, we sing these words:
“He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so you’d better be good for goodness sake.”
It actually sounds a little creepy.
With God, we say he is omniscient – He knows everything. That is usually paired with omnipresent – He is everywhere.
And yes, just like with Santa, that idea is often used in a creepy, passive-aggressive, threatening way.
But God intends for that to be a comfort – at least Him knowing everything and being everywhere; not so much the Santa thing.
God promises to be with each of us at all times, a task that is only possible because He is omnipresent. We find ‘Never will I leave you nor forsake you’ repeated throughout Scripture.
When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God stayed with them and led them with a cloud and a pillar of fire. In the same way, He desires to not just be with us, but also to lead us and guide us. That is only possible because He is omniscient.
There’s a line in Lauren Daigle’s song “Trust in You” that gives the perfect image of this. “There’s not a place where I’ll go you’ve not already stood.”
Because God is everywhere and knows everything, we can confidently follow Him, trusting that He knows what’s best and will be with us, through the times of plenty as well as the desert times.
Because God is everywhere and knows everything, we have hope for the future and hope for today.