My favorite part of the game Hide and Seek isn’t the hiding or the seeking. It’s planning where a good hiding spot might be in advance.
I’m competitive but also don’t necessarily do well under pressure. So if I have a little time to explore and contemplate my options, make needed adjustments, and plan the logistics before the counting starts, I might ensure a win in Hide and Seek (if there is such a thing as winning and losing in that game.)
God doesn’t play Hide and Seek. He isn’t trying to hide from me. There are definitely times when He seems absent, quiet… hiding. But during those times, I’m actually the one who wandered off and ducked into some dark cubby hole. It’s like reverse Hide and Seek. God is out in the light where He always is waiting for me. But I turn away down some dark path. I poke around in the shadows and wonder where God is. Why has He abandoned me?
But in today’s verse, He’s saying, “I’m right here. I always have been and always will be. If you pull your head out, you’ll see me. Plain as day. Standing right here, like always. Come back out of your dark hidey-hole. Olly olly oxen free!”
Dear God,
Thank you so much for your consistency, your patience, and your grace. I’m so glad you promise to be found when I bother to actually open my eyes and my heart to look. Show me the way out of the crevices I go to hide, and teach me how to live without wanting to hide from you at all. I trust you and want to live in the light with you.
CamDevo 