In 1990, famed singer and actress Bette Midler took the song, “From a Distance” to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, and also went on to win a Grammy with it for “Song of the Year” in 1991. I’m sure you’ve probably heard the song somewhere in the last 18 years and are familiar with at least some of its lyrics. But, just in case you haven’t, here are the words to the song:

From a distance the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace
It’s the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of home, playing songs of peace
They’re the songs of every man
God is watching us, God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I can’t comprehend
What all this war is for

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves
It’s the heart of every man

It’s the hope of hopes, It’s the love of loves
It’s the song of every man

American singer/song-writer Julie Gold actually penned the song in 1985, and though she went on record as saying everyone should be allowed to interpret the song for themselves, here are a couple common interpretations associated with it:

Julie [Gold] says she believes in an immanent and beneficent God. She states that the song is about the difference between the way things appear and the way they really are. The original notion may have been that a potentially harmonious world filled with hope and peace is perceivable when one stands back and looks at things “from a distance.” God, from a similar perspective, “is watching” everything we do. It is not clear from these words that God is actively watching over us in a caring way or merely viewing what we do from a critical standpoint, but presumably God also hears the same harmony and songs “from a distance.”

Another interpretation is that the perception of love and peace only exist “from a distance” and that the up close reality is not being addressed. It suggests that God is deistic and doesn’t actually act on our problems, and is only an observer. From a distance “no one is in need,” and “there are no hungry mouths to feed.” “God is watching us from a distance.” In other words, God is so far from human existence as to not be able to see, and thus respond, to hunger or need. -Wikipedia, “From a Distance”

I was a sophomore in college when that song was released, which is right around the time the Persian Gulf War broke out. I remember the song’s arresting melody and ostensibly spiritual context captivating the air waves, especially in light of the war in which our nation was engaged. But, there was always something that didn’t sit right with me about the song, and I knew what it was every time the lyric rolled around…”God is watching us from a distance.” That just didn’t ring right to me. While I know God is above all and beyond all and created all, He is more than just a being who spun the world into existence and then propped His feet up to watch us for all eternity “from a distance.” God is not simply a cosmic spectator spying on the affairs of mankind from some galactic armchair! No, the Bible is very clear that our God is a personal, active Savior who is very near to us. In fact, He dwells with us! Check this passage out:

Jesus replied, “All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them.”

John 14:23, NLT

For those who have invited Christ into their lives, God lives with them. He resides in them! You can’t get any closer than that! God, who cannot be confined and Who fills all things, has decided that those who put their faith in Christ will be His dwelling place! So God is never far away or somewhere out there beyond the reach of His children. He is everywhere, always near, always here, and in our hearts. We are never alone, and never will we be abandoned (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus has all authority and it is His decree that He will be in us and always with us.

We need to take comfort in His nearness, believing Him to be close and cultivating our relationship with Him (James 4:8). We should be able to say like the psalmist, “But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do” (Psalm 73:28).

God isn’t watching you “from a distance.” He is right there with you, this very moment, even as you read this. There is absolutely nowhere that you could go that He wouldn’t be there with you. One of my favorite passages in the Bible can be found in the 139th Psalm, verses 7-18. Read it here below and take comfort in its truth, knowing that God is near you and actively involved in your life today as you follow and obey Him!

I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night–but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!