I must avoid at all costs the religion of surveillance. God put this religion in proper focus when He said to Jeremiah, “Am I a God at hand … and not a God afar off?” (Jeremiah 23:23, KJV). I must not have a schizophrenic faith in God. I must not fly to Him in trouble and then forget Him when all is well. 

I find it is easy to be a prospering Christian when I am under surveillance. But do I still behave like a disciple when I am in a strange city in which I am unknown and God is “afar off”? How much of my Christianity is simply conformity under social or family pressure? Am I simply a chameleon, taking on the color of my surroundings without the necessary change of inner impulse? 

The religion of surveillance is doomed to defeat. God asks, “Can a man hide himself in secret places and I shall not see him?” (Jeremiah 23:24, Berkeley). I must not toy with God as the Israelites did, seeking Him only in danger and totally ignoring His claim upon them. Israel’s idolatry was a symptom of the religion of surveillance. I also will become idolatrous, in effect, by pretending God has no eyes to see or ears to hear. 

My attitude must be that of the woman who was so desperate to get to  Jesus that she “touched the fringe of His … garment” (Luke 8:43–48, margin). The difference between her and the crowds jostling Jesus was that she touched in need and in faith. The result—healing and newness! I must be characterized by a continual touching of Jesus by faith, and not by just a respectable acquaintance with Him. Surveillance keeps Jesus at bay, but the touch of faith releases His almighty power for eternal results. Faith treats  God as the ever-present, ever ready One, my anchor and hope for every situation.   

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a de-  fense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15).