God in the Haze

The haze situation in Singapore has worsened in the last few days. If you, like me, aren't one of those privileged ones who can escape to Australia or elsewhere from the haze, by now, you might have devised some coping mechanisms to keep healthy in this hazardous condition. What have you done thus far?

Perhaps, you wear a mask when you go out but even so, no mask can possibly keep out all the pollution. People used to go to the malls to escape from the sweltering heat but even when I enter the malls this time, the shops appear blurry too. I guess we cannot prevent the air outside from entering since air flows to everywhere. If you are at home, you might have kept your windows and doors shut. But the minute you notice the gaps under your doors, you will realise that you are not totally safe indoors either.

In primary school Science, the kids are taught that gas is a form of matter that does not have a definite shape, thus taking up the shape of its container. It flows to wherever there is space. It is everywhere. And it came to a point where I asked myself... Where can I run to in Singapore, what must I do to keep the haze away so my health will not decline into another episode of respiratory tract infection? 

This question left me very much helpless because I cannot live without air but the air all around me is polluted. There is no where I can be free of the haze. 

In a way, God is like the air. As I felt helplessly surrounded by the haze, I was reminded of God's presence that surrounds me at all times too. There isn't a place I can go to exit the presence of God. It is easy without the haze to think that our air is without dust and bacteria. Just as easy as it is to lose sight and doubt that God's presence continues to surround me when I cannot feel Him near. But we wore masks and kept our distance too during the H1N1 and SARS periods didn't we? Even when the air was clear... because we knew... we just knew that the virus is in the air even when we didn't see it floating around. But when the hype is over, we let our guards down and forget that viruses continue to surround us. 

Do you at times feel down when you cannot sense God's presence? 
Maybe in those times, you could somehow trust that He is with you anyway. But for me, I need microscopic lenses to magnify the dust particles so that I can see them even when the air is clear. I need the microscopic lens of faith that needs no seeing or hearing or touching or sensing or tasting to know, to believe and to go steadily on in the haze, in the clear air, in every possible condition.

What about you?
Do you have faith?