Hide and Seek
From The Game Of Life by Dacia James Lewis
“. . . Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come.”
That was the indicator for every player to expedite their plan and be securely tucked away in the best hiding place so that they are not found by “it” (the seeker). You know the game. Hide and Seek! The human scavenger hunt that every adolescent loved to play.
Does it ever appear to you that God is playing a game of Hide and Seek? When you are faced with insurmountable disappointments and begging God for clarity, does it feel like He has found the best hiding place ever? I don’t know about you, but there have been times during my waiting season when God’s presence appeared to be nowhere in sight. It felt like He was playing a Divine game of Hide and Seek if you will, and the more angst I was about a situation, the harder it was to find Him.
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. – Proverbs 25:2 ESV
With minimum words of confirmation, we can easily misconstrue God’s silence for absence. The truth is, God longs to be sought out and it is in our wholehearted pursuit that God reveals Himself. Sometimes it’s as easy to find God as seeing a hider’s feet sticking out from behind the curtain. Other times it takes a while to find God, not because He doesn’t want to be found, but He wants us to dig deeper.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:13 ESV
Essentially, every hider in the game wants to be found. It is the very essence of the game. God wants to be found; and just like a snicker or giggle in the game of Hide and Seek that exposes a hider’s whereabouts to the seeker, God always makes Himself known. When you don’t hear Him, when you don’t see Him, when you can’t feel Him, perhaps it is time to jump in a game of Hide and Seek with the Master, watching and waiting for Him to reveal Himself to you.
But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. – Deuteronomy 4:29 ESV
In your wait . . . release the weight of uncertainty. Seek God with all your heart. He will make Himself known.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. – Matthew 7:7 ESV
Prayer
Father God, when I can’t find You, remind me of Your steadfast and immovable spirit. When I am faced with the uncertainty of Your presence, show me that You are near. Your Word says that when I draw near to You, You will draw near to me. Therefore, I commit to seeking You with my whole heart. I will consistently ask You for Your guidance. I will diligently seek Your ways. I will persistently knock on Your door until You answer with Your plans or Your presence. God, I make You my quest and I will pursue You today, and every day of my life. Amen.