We grew up playing hide’n’seek.
We loved the mystery of wondering where others were hiding from us and the excitement of discovering them and particularly the joy of tagging them before they reached “base.”
It was a lot of fun…. even when we were the ones tagged and had to start helping to look for others hidden here and there.
People still play hide’n’seek as adults but often it’s not in the pursuit of fun but instead in the pain of shame or in the pride of not wanting to hear critical remarks about unwise choices.
There’s one person who refuses to play the game that we’ve not outgrown.
His name is God.
God does not hide behind bushes or sheds or tree trunks or cars or up on roofs or wherever. As if He even could.
He’s everywhere so how could He hide?
When hiding occurs, it’s something we attempt to do, not Him.
We might do so directly when we rebelliously sin against His Word.
At such moments, we are veiled in sin and that obscures the goodness created within us at birth.
It’s so much better when we don’t hide from the God who doesn’t hide from us.
The Bible reading for today included this verse from II Chronicles 15:2…
“The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with Him! Whenever you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.”
We’ve all had sinful moments that reflected our desire for separation from God’s authority so that we could do what Satan promised was more tasty than God’s Truth.
I certainly wish I could say that I never sinned, that I never swallowed a lie, but I can’t.
That’s why I am so glad that I don’t have to play a scavenger hunt game with God when it comes to being in a right relationship with Him.
I repent (Acts 2:38). I seek God and His forgiveness (I John 1:9). I find Him and He tells me again that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
These truths greatly comfort me. I pray they do the same for you and for the people with whom you’ll share this passage.
As always, I love you
Martin
