I am familiar
with hiding. Apart from the regular game of hide-n-seek, my cousin and I often
invented other hiding games. We invented imaginary giants to hide from in my
grandfather’s barns. If we chose to play cowboys and Indians, one of us would
hide.
The hog pens also
provided ample opportunity for hiding. Amidst the mud lay areas of broom straw
taller than us. We enjoyed aggravating the hogs. After doing so—since we knew
our grandmother would soon appear and scold us—we ducked between the straw.
Hiding began when
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thought they could hide their sin. And it’s been
happening since then because we’re born with a sinful bent that leads us to
disobedience. When we disobey, we attempt the same thing as our first parents.
“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” (Genesis 3:8 NIV).
Jesus once hid
from two of his followers who were walking the Emmaus Road.
“But they didn’t
know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16 NLT).
They saw him, but
they didn’t recognize him. Jesus feigned ignorance about what had happened to
him, so the two informed him about the death and reported resurrection. As he
ate with them, their eyes were opened. They recognized who he was.
God has created
in us the ability to know right from wrong. Although we do wrong from an early
age, we reach a point when we recognize wrong. After that, our failure to admit
the wrong makes us want to hide like our first parents.
God can also hide
from us—perhaps to stretch our faith. He’s there, but he makes his presence
less prominent. He wants us to stretch for Him, to realize our need for him,
and to let our faith deepen.
When God hides,
he tests our resolve. His apparent absence makes us consider the seriousness of
our love and service for him and our sincerity about whatever task we
undertake.
Times of absence
may also signal that God is busy preparing circumstances—or even us—for
something different or better. God hid from Moses while he lived on the back
side of the desert tending sheep, from Elijah while he hid in a cave, and from
Joseph while Joseph languished in a foreign country.
But God never
truly hides; it only seems that way. In those times, we need to pause, trust,
pray, and ask what he’s up to.
Father, in times
when it appears You have left me, guide me to seek You more than ever so I can
discover what You’re up to.
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