Nowhere to Hide
by Clyde Blyleven
The game of hide and seek has been around for as long as there have been children. I have had lots of these games with my kids and now my grandkids. I played it when I was a kid too. I’m not really sure I like the game. What if I can’t find them? What if they stop looking for me? What about those losers who use it as game to ditch you? Sometimes I try to play ‘Spiritual Hide and Seek.’ Mistakes are made, poor decisions are made, then I am embarrassed and try to deny such things happen. I might be able to fool people with this approach, but God…no way…there is nowhere to hide.
Psalm 139:1-4 says: O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my laying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.
The original game of hide and seek did not go well for the participants. When Adam and Eve sinned, they tried to hide their shame from God to no avail. God is omniscient, having all knowledge and knowing all things. God confronted them and banned them from the garden (Genesis 3).
There is another great game of hide and seek in the Old Testament. Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh. Jonah did not want to do this so he fled from God on a ship. Almost everyone knows how this one turned out; God sent a storm and Jonah ended up thrown overboard, and a fish delivered him to Nineveh (Jonah).
A very sad game of hide and seek occurred while Israel was conquering the promised land. After a victory, Achan decided to keep plunder from the victory—in direct disobedience to God’s command. It’s never a good plan to hide from the omniscient One. Ultimately, Achan was discovered and he and his wife were killed for this transgression (Joshua 7:19/26).
Sometimes God seems to be hiding from us; when trouble surrounds us, when friends and family suffer, when innocent people are persecuted, when evil rules…Why, O Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1)
In these troubled times, it is our turn to seek Him out. He is not hard to find, always in the same place yesterday, today, and forever. When we find Him, when we praise Him, when we worship Him, all that shame and pain dissolves, and we realize what a gift He has given us by choosing us for His own. God is also there to share in our joys and magnify them with His holiness. My happiest moments in this life are when good things happen and I recognize they are God’s gift to me.
In God’s perfect plan, we are unable to hide from Him; we can only hide from ourselves. Knowing this brings great comfort, and we really have no option but to turn to Him for healing forgiveness. Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
When you make mistakes, do not hide them from God as that is actually impossible. Confess them, repent of them, and you will find the great love of God is always there.
Dear Heavenly Father, You know my thoughts and deeds. You knew I needed a Savior because of evil that lives in me. The Savior, Your son Jesus, took the burden of that evil off my soul through His work on the cross. Jesus opened the way for us to be with You through Him. I can never thank You enough for salvation, but I can praise Your name all day and night. Amen.