My grandson loves to play hide and seek. Although, he will ask you to play “hiding” and seek. The game typically looks a lot like this: he will hide (always in the same location) while MiMi covers her eyes and counts to ten. Then, MiMi will find him after looking in several locations. Press repeat. He can do this over and over again.

Now, you are probably thinking, when is it MiMi’s turn to hide? Well, that is an excellent question. Typically, my grandson prefers to be the one hiding. So, this MiMi does a lot of counting and a lot of pretending to not know exactly where my grandson hides.

Hmmm… does this sound familiar? It sounds a lot like my own life. There have been countless times that I have hidden from God, usually neck deep in the same old sin, waiting for Him to find me. But just like my grandson, I am never truly out of sight. Yes, my Father in heaven may pretend to not know where I am and allow me to hide in that same sin, bad relationship, addiction, anger, jealousy, comparison, or even grief. But, make no mistake, He knows exactly where to find me. And He will find and rescue me over and over again.

What if I decided to stop hiding in my sinful nature and instead decided to hide in Him? Well, I would then find protection and deliverance. Psalm 32:7 tells us, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Oh yes, the best hiding place is found in God himself, with his mighty arms wrapped around you tight.

The truth is that I should give seeking God a try. I should get out of my hiding place and seek Him. Open up the Bible, bend my knees in prayer, attend a Bible Study or Sunday School class, worship Him on Sundays, lean into Him with a daily devotion, have a conversation about Him with a friend or even a stranger. He will be found because He never hides from me. He never closes His eyes and counts to ten. No, He sent His Son so that He could see me, even in my sinful nature. He will always be found because He created me to worship Him, need Him, serve Him, love Him. And not just for me, for you too! What an awesome God! What a good Father!

Yes, let’s play a round of “hiding” and seek with God. We need His forgiveness and restoration in the hiding. And we need His love, peace, joy, gentleness, faithfulness, and grace in the seeking.

You go first….I’m counting to ten!

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Psalms 27:8 NIV

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV