The modern western world, using atheistic existentialism, is trying to develop a world system without reference to God's presence.  They try to explain the innate presence of God in us through humanistic speculations, i.e., all nature is one, meditate on nature and merge with it, feel the cosmic presence, etc.  This idolatry is trying to be one with the lower forms of God's creation, such as the trees, animals, and rocks.

     God created us so that we would know Him.  Since mankind has rebelled against the Creator's presence, they take things and feelings as a substitute for the real presence of God.

     God is everywhere but not everything, nor is God the sum total of everything. God is ever present (awareness) but not as water is to a fish.  This means that God is not physically present, but personally present, such as a person is present to us by a telephone call but not in our immediate physical presence.  God is aware of everything that happens.  He is beyond our physical world, not only in time and space but in His Being.  No matter how big we make outer-space, God can't be stuffed into its finiteness.

     God knows all our secrets.  He sees all our sins which we want to ignore and cover-up by various means of lying.  Because God is so awesome, we try to hide from God like Adam and Eve did in the garden by means of the created world, undergrowth and fig leaves.  Our dirtiness repels us from His holy presence.  Anything will be better than face the living holy God.  Vulgar language, blatant sin, and daring arrogance cannot overcome our fear by challenging God directly. I have seen some trying to bully God, but it leaves them more depraved than before....

     The sinner has no place to hide from God.  God is all-seeing.  Also disobedient Christians cannot avoid their responsibility to God by ignoring them either.  God keeps up the pressure on us until we break ourselves over His ways and learn to obey Him.  Mental health is maintained only in obeying the Lord's continually guidance.  All disobedient Christians must experience their rebellion just like Jonah did.

     In persecution, trials, and tribulations, God's presence keeps us strong.  We persevere because He is holding us and keeping us.  We would quit many times over except His presence draws us to holiness and secures our sealing and salvation.