I don’t know which part was more exciting—the hiding or the seeking. As we traipsed around the neighborhood yards and woods, searching for the perfect hiding place where we could never be found, the person who was “It” was hot on our trail, seeking to find us. How frustrating it was to not have enough time to find an isolated, remote spot to crouch into, but instead duck behind a tired old scratchy bush, in plain sight of anyone under three feet tall. The job of seeking had its own pressures: the seeker was on his own, with no clues or help from any of the hiders. He could only hope for a sneeze or cough to give away the secret spot, but the more hiders there were, the greater the tension for the seeker to find them all and end the round.
Colossians 3:3 (ESV) says, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Jesus hung on the cross and died for our sin, there was nothing to hide his broken, mutilated, naked body from the onlookers. There were no trees to shade or cover Him--no bushes…nothing. He was in plain sight as He bore that humiliation and pain for us. Because the Father accepted Jesus’ death as payment for our sin, we now have the best hiding place in the universe when sin tries to engulf us and separate us from God, for our life is hidden with Christ, in God. He’s not a tired old scratchy bush we duck behind, hoping not to be discovered. He is the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, fully man and fully God. Jesus Christ is THEE ultimate hiding place.
Hiding’s really not hard at all; just confess your sins to Jesus, ask Him to forgive you, and duck behind Him. Seeking’s not so formidable, either. God actually watches to see how many seekers there are—specifically, those who frequent His Presence and inquire of Him. God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; He looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. (Psalm 53:2 NLT).
Seeking God is strongly encouraged in the New Testament, too. Consider the words in Acts 17:26-27 (The Message), Starting from scratch, He (God) made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living, so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; He's near.
There’s nothing more reassuring and strengthening than hiding yourself in Christ and seeking His wisdom, counsel, peace, and direction every single day. Let Him hear you say, Ready or not, here I come, Lord!
Trust me, He will be ready and waiting.
© 2021, Chris Werre
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