Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful.
- 1 Peter 5:5-8
The title asks a great question. Isn't God with everyone? Scripture actually says no, He's not. Certain attitudes actually repel God's presence. The real war, of course, is fought on the inside. He won't show up when these internal attitude sins push Him away.
God is not with the proud.
What significant human problem does not begin with pride? Psalm 138:6 says, "The LORD . . . regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar." If you think you don't need God and can do life on your own, then God respects your choice and stays far away. A proud soul thinks that God is just for weak people. And God backs away and watches; We'll see how that goes for you. Pride is God repellent but God rushes to help the humble person.
God's not with the worldly.
James 4:4 says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Love for the world and love for God cannot coexist. We all live in this battle. The world tries to drag us down but God wants to pull us out. Face it: if your goal is fixed on satisfying your own self-indulgence and private pleasure, and in getting what you want when you want it, you're worldly.
Listen up, friend. These warnings are for all of us. James 3:2 says that "we all stumble in many ways." None of us are perfect people - just forgiven. That said, our relationship with God is dependent on how we deal with our own sin. When God shows you your sin in the mirror and you repent of it as soon as you realize it, and humbly ask Him for forgiveness and strength to not return to that sin again, God's mercy floods over you. But if you hide your sin, thinking, No one's going to stop me from doing what I want to do. I don't care that it's sin; I'm doing it anyway, that's harboring sin and it's so dangerous.
Categorically, the Lord is not with everyone - not with the proud or the worldly - but He can be with you. He is with you if your heart is yielded to Him, if you've turned from your sin and embraced Christ by faith and you're seeking every day to walk in obedience to Him.
-James Mcdonald
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