When I was a child, I loved to spend the night with my Aunt Violet.
Whenever I went to her house, Hide and Seek was one of our favorite games together.
Part of the fun was that I could hide SO good, she wouldn’t be able to find me! *)
Aunt Violet would look behind the coat rack, on the sun porch, in the cubby beside the refrigerator, laughing and calling, “Where are you?”
The whole time, I’d be crouching down, in plain sight, beneath the dining room table, giggling into my fingers as she walked by.
After a few moments of hiding, I’d jump out and run into her arms! Of course, my Aunt new exactly where I was all along; but she would let me hide as long as I wanted.
As adults, sometimes, we play hide and seek with God. Like my aunt in the childhood game, God knows exactly where we are all the time. We only think we are hiding.
There are a lot of reasons why we hide from God. Maybe we’re hiding inside our pain. Or perhaps we’re hiding behind our busyness. Sometimes, we disobey God and we hide under our sin; like Adam and Eve in the garden.
Whatever the reason we’re hiding, God not only knows exactly where we are; He knows why we’re hiding. No matter why we are hiding, God stands beside our hiding place and calls to us, “Where are you?”
God knows where we are. But, the first step of our choosing to not hide anymore is for us to stand up and say, “Here, I am.” Once we stop hiding, we can run into His arms, open our hearts to confess our sins and receive complete forgiveness.
When we admit to ourselves the real reason for our hiding game, God reminds us that He gave His son so that we can have relationship. We no longer need to hide, not for any reason. He welcomes us back into His presence and holds us close.
If you’re playing hide and seek with God; He’ll let you hide as long as you want. But, every moment that you continue to hide is a moment that you could be enjoying the intimacy of His presence. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Prayer: Father, help me to be obedient to your Word and not fall into sin. Those times when I do fall to temptation, remind me that nothing is hidden from you; I can come boldly before you, confess and be forgiven. Thank you for your mercy and grace. I love you. Amen.