One basic truth of the Bible is that the eyes of the Lord see everything in every place. What then do we make of the idea of someone moving from the presence of the Lord? The scripture recorded two persons who departed from the presence of the Lord. The prophet Jonah was one of them. He was originally sent to Nineveh but he had a different idea of where he would rather be. “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3 NKJV). Here we gather that to be in the place of our assigned duties is to be in the presence of the Lord. Leaving it is to be away from the presence of the Lord.

Though things can happen outside of the presence of the Lord, it would be with much struggle and lack the endorsement of God’s glory.

The second account of departing from the presence of the Lord is the story of Cain. Shortly after he killed his brother Abel out of envy, God placed a curse on him and made him a homeless wanderer on the earth. In this regard, leaving the presence of the Lord is like forfeiting a land or place with the direct care of God. There seem to be two types of land – the one where you struggle to make things happen and the one where God makes things happen. “But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12 KJV). Though things can happen outside of the presence of the Lord, it would be with much struggle and lack the endorsement of God’s glory.