May
3
2012
Hide and Seek
Posted in Forgiveness 2 Comments
Don’t you love to watch little children play hide and seek?
I especially love to watch toddlers cover their eyes with their hands and think that because they can’t see you, you can’t see them.
If it were only that easy.
There was nothing better on a summer night than to play hide and seek.
Of course, you had to set the rules: no hiding in a tree, no hiding in a parked car on the driveway, no hiding in the house…
It was never as much fun to be “it”.
It was boring to lean up against a tree, close your eyes and count.
There were always the fast counters…who weren’t really counting at all.
One, two, three, four, twelve, sixteen, twenty…ready or not here I come!
Or the counters that took forever, so you had to pop your head out to see where they were.
As soon as you did, you got caught.
You never wanted someone younger to hide with you, because you didn’t want them to know your good hiding spots.
How wonderful to be the one who just couldn’t be found.
Your hiding spot was that good!
It is a bit different when we get older.
We are all lost…hiding in our sin.
We are so much like the little toddler hiding behind their hands.
We think we are doing such a good job of keeping our sins hidden.
We can relate to the impatient child who pops their head out and gets caught.
However, there is freedom is being found out.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
What a wonderful promise…PURIFY.
No shame, no more hiding.
Clean.
God is not waiting…counting.
He sees. He knows.
We are never hidden from Him.
That is a good thing.
…the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
Someone else IS playing a game.
He doesn’t play fairly.
He cheats when he counts.
He traps and ensnares.
He accuses.
Our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
(1 Peter 5:8)
As fallen, sinful people, we have every reason to hide our face from God.
But thankfully, God had the perfect Game Plan.
There is nothing we can do, on our own, to get back into a right relationship with God.
We have broken all the rules.
We are never good enough…no matter how hard we try.
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place.
Jesus, the sinless substitute, did nothing to deserve death.
All of our sin was placed on Jesus as He hung on that cross.
God the Father looked away from His own Son because He is too holy to look at sin.
That was Jesus’ darkest moment…when His father turned His face away.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Mark 15:34)
Jesus was forsaken on that cross instead of us.
Jesus took the punishment that really belonged to us.
Jesus was “it” so we wouldn’t have to be.
Now instead of hiding FROM God, we can safely hide IN God.
- Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You. (Psalm 143:9)
- You are my hiding place: You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)
- Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings. (Psalm 17:8)
The enemy prowls around and wants to devour us.
God sees.
He seeks to strengthen us.
Now we are beautifully exposed…enveloped in His arms…under His wings.
There is no safer hiding place.
Every morning I am refreshed after reading your blog. It is a welcomed beginning to my day and helps me to keep my focus on Him throughout the day. Thank you for sharing your beautiful writing and for bringing me closer to Him. Thank you for every day examples that I can share with non-believers. I look forward to opening my email every morning to see Whispers of his Movement.
Janis,
Thank you for your precious words.
I write these “whisperings” in the prayerful hope that many will come to know our Lord Jesus.
God’s word does not return void…He is the only One that can change a human heart.
I am humbled that He gives me this platform to show others, in a simple way, who He is.
Gina