Hide-and-Seek
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?” –Genesis 3:8,9
If you have a dog or cat, you probably have, at one time or another, seen their attempts to “hide” from you–which usually amounts to their head under the bed and the rest of their body showing. In their mind, since they can’t see you, you can’t see them!
Ever try to hide from God? Ok, maybe not behind a bush, dressed up in the latest in fig leaf fashion, but have you ever avoided God? Maybe you’ve tried hiding just part of yourself or your life from Him. Here we see Adam and Eve hiding from God after disobeying Him. What motivated them to hide? Fear. Adam tells God they became afraid and so they hid. Most of us are guilty at one point or another of either avoiding God altogether, or of trying to hide from Him some part of ourselves that we don’t want Him to see, and we do this because we are afraid. Perhaps we fear God will be angry or disappointed. Perhaps we have shame we don’t to feel about our “secret” (which I use in quotes because it is impossible to have secrets from an all-knowing, all-seeing God). Perhaps we try to hide something from God, such as a gifting or talent, because we are afraid He will ask us to step out in faith and use it, and we fear failure. What’s wonderful about this story in Genesis is this: even when Adam and Eve attempted to hide, God pursued them. God came looking for them; they did not have to go find God. This is part of what is so wonderful about the relentless love of God, that no matter how hard we may try to run from Him, He refuses to stop pursuing us. There is nothing we can hide from Him. If we’ve sinned, failed, or fallen short, He already knows about it (in fact He knew about it before it even happened), and He has a plan to help us if we will come to Him instead of hide in fear. If we are afraid of moving into what we think He is calling us to do, He pursues and beckons us to come with Him to where He is taking us, assuring us that He will be our helper through it all.
Today, if part of you (or all of you) is hiding from God, be encouraged. God already knows where you are. He never loses a game of hide-and-seek, so He is sure to find you. If you will trust Him, He will help you come out from behind that bush and move into the better thing He has for you. Ask Him to help you trust and believe that He is more than able to help you face that fear and have victory over it.