Are You Ubiquitous?

"Hey, Mr. Ubiquitor, what's in your bag?"

That's the question posed by an advertisement published in an airline magazine featuring luggage and other items for travelers. "In today's business world," the ad continues, "it pays for professionals to be 'ubiquitous'—to be everywhere at once." Certain items will help "if you're doing business in Jakarta one day and Jacksonville the next." Or at least that's the rationale given for trying to sell you a $600 laptop bag, a $125 silk tie, and a $1,300 suit.

Personally I've never aspired to be ubiquitous. It's a word I seldom feel inclined to use in ordinary conversation: "My, I'm feeling ubiquitous today."

The magazine ad inspired me to look up the word in the dictionary, and sure enough, ubiquitous means "existing or being everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread."

I've never considered myself ubiquitous. But to be honest, many times I've wished I could be more than one place at a time. I've been tied to a project at work while my heart was at home with my family. I've been physically present at a family gathering while my mind was distracted by a problem at work. I've been snowed in at home wishing I could be at church, and (dare I say it?) at church wishing I could be at home.

Have you ever wished you could be two places at one time? Have you ever tried to squeeze a gallon-sized to-do list into a pint-sized schedule? Do you ever wish you had more than 24 hours in a day? Have you ever thought, If I only had an eight-day week, I could catch up on everything I need to do? Do you keep a lot of plates spinning? Are some of your responsibilities so large and full that they resemble platters more than plates?

Biblical truth brings me back to reality. God is all-powerful; I am not. God is all-knowing; I am not. God is omnipresent; I am not. If anyone deserves the title "Mr. Ubiquitor," it's the Lord. He's the ever-present one with all eternity at his disposal. My hours and days are not my own; they are gifts to be received from him and given back to him. He's the Lord of worship and work, rest and recreation, family and finances, church and chores, sports and sleep. I don't have to be everywhere, do everything, understand everything, and fix everything. Trying to do so would be blasphemy—as if I were able to do what God alone can do.

In his classic book Your God Is Too Small, J. B. Phillips wrote, "Many men and women today are living, often with inner dissatisfaction, without any faith in God at all. This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish . . . but because they have not found with their adult minds a God big enough to account for life, big enough to fit in with the new scientific age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently their willing cooperation."

The Psalmist found a big-enough God. In awe he prayed, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). I'll gladly add the word ubiquitous to my vocabulary. It causes me to recognize my own limitations, and it gives me another reason to praise the Lord who is present everywhere and powerful all the time.