WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?
Christine Wyrtzen
You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7
It can be comforting to hide somewhere away from the crowd. I can avoid someone I dread. I can regroup when I need the quiet. I can also conceal myself in order to stay safe. King David called God His hiding place. Instead of hiding from God, He hid in God.
Quite a different scenario with Adam however. He gave the wrong answer when God asked him where he was hiding. Adam said, “I'm hiding because I'm naked.” That wasn’t true. He should have said, “I'm hiding because I disobeyed you.” The right answer seemed too incriminating.
I’ve avoided God. I've quenched His quiet voice calling out to me. I've kept the noise level around me high to drown Him out. The more time went by, the harder it was to turn around. Excuses were thin when I stood before a holy God. “I was busy” didn’t cut it. Like Adam, I was hiding from the real issue.
Behind all excuses is usually sin. I did something I shouldn’t have done. I believed something about Him that wasn’t true which caused me to distrust His love and faithfulness. The fracture in our relationship couldn't be made right until I told the truth out loud.
Sooner or later, every person who hides from God will stand before Him. They will encounter Him as Judge or Savior. Those who ran from His presence because they were disobedient children will mourn their choices. When blinded by the glory of such a wonderful God, they will regret all the small things they hid behind. Those who ran from His presence because they were enemies of the cross will also mourn their choices. Like the rich man in Hades, they will see the expanse of an eternity before them that offers no second chances.
And this is the irony ~ I can be consumed today with just a sideways glance of a mere acquaintance. Thinking something might be wrong, I obsess. But, am I equally consumed when I sense that things between God and me aren’t right? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to make it right, starting with the willingness to own the truth? I will know things are right again when the thought of hiding in God makes me run home.
Sometimes, I haven’t known what was wrong but when I asked, You showed me. Thank you for all the times You looked for me and called my name. In Jesus' name, Amen
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Thursday, 04 February 2021.
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