Life Talk Devotion 10/17/2023
Lately, I have been reminiscing about my youth and all the games played with the other neighborhood kids. It has stirred up some fond memories of the simple and carefree days where worries were few. Hide and Seek is one of those games we enjoyed in the cool of the summer evenings when the sun started to set. It is a classic game that I am sure has been part of the human childhood experience in perpetuity. The adventure of hiding in secret stirs the adventurous nature of our spirits.
But as we grow into adults, many of us still want to play a form of hide and seek in our relationships; both human and with God. Often we hide our true self in our human relationships out of fear of not being accepted or we pretend to be something we are not to impress others. Sometimes we go the avoidance route, dodging deep relationships with people to shield ourselves from hurts and our insecurities. It is easy to hide behind a “mask” in our human relationships but not so easy with God. Psalm 139 reveals God’s intimate understanding of us down to the very core of our being.
“Are You Hiding From God?”
Where Can I Flee – Psalm 139:1-12
You have searched me, Lord,
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 lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139: 1-12
But that begs the question: “Can we really hide from God? Oh, we can run from Him and yes we can fool ourselves into believing He does not exist. But, we cannot hide “who we are” from Him. And it is this reality that exposes how overtly vulnerable we are to His knowledge of us. For He see us as we are. He knows the depth of our sin, the shallowness of our love and too ………..our very longing to be something different than that person with the mask.
A thoughtful reading of these verses reveals only a tender and intimate recognition that God knows us for who we are and that nothing is held in secret from Him. He sees our frailties and our insecurities without condemnation yet still expresses a deep abiding desire that we should come to Him.
Jesus put it this way: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29). It is faith in Jesus Christ that frees us to leave the hidden shadows and take the mask off. Christ Jesus bore the weight of our sin on the cross and for those who trust in Him there is no longer any condemnation.
So instead of hiding from God, He invites each of us to make Him our secret place, our refuge in Christ. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2).
The call at the end of a game of Hide and Seek is “Come out, come out wherever you are”. The game is over. It is time to go home to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.
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