By Chris WittsWednesday 4 Sep 2013Morning Devotions with Chris WittsLifeReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
One of the games that many children enjoy is ‘hide and seek’. Most of us know this game – hear the squeals and laughter as adults and the kids play this old game- hide and seek. I have played this with my grandchildren,and I enjoy it as much as they do. The adult hides,and waits for the child to find them. And on goes this lovely game which is simple,and yet a lot of fun at the same time ..but did you know that the game goes on in adult life? I mean that many people play hide and seek with God. They think they can hide from Him – get away from Him and ignore Him completely. The truth is we can’t hide from God. It’s impossible.
The Psalmist in the OT understood this when he wrote in Psalm 139 “where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight? If I were to climb up to the highest heavens,you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead,you would also be there” (v7-8). “Or suppose I said ‘I’ll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over. But you see in the dark,because daylight and dark are all the same to you” (v11-12). These verses remind me that God is everywhere all the time. Hiding from Him is impossible because He sees everything that is going on,for He is in charge of our universe – so there is no corner for us to hide,and out attempts to hide form Him are just as futile as the 2 year old covering her eyes as she says “You can’t see me anymore”. I know there’s a book out called “Rebel with a cause” written by Franklin Graham,son of evangelist Billy Graham. In his teenage years,Franklin rejected his family’s religious beliefs – he was rebellious by nature and wanted nothing to do with his famous father. His parents had many sleepless nights worried about their son. He tried to run away from God until aged 22 as one day he read John’s gospel,and realised he had to stop running,and accepted Jesus Christ into his life. He was later ordained into the ministry in 1982,and has had a powerful witness around the world,as his father did. He knew he could not hide form God.
In Geneses ( the 1st book of the Bible) we read of Adam and Eve our first parents who God had created. One day God called out to them in this beautiful garden of Eden “where are you?”. Adam said “I was naked and when I heard you walking through the garden,I was frightened and hid”. They had rebelled and found God knew,and they couldn’t hide from their Maker. And neither can we.
The Bible tells of other notable people who tried to hide. Saul was the first king of Israel – but he wasn’t a happy or enthusiastic man. When Samuel had plans to present King Saul to the crowds,we read this remarkable verse in 1 Samuel 10:22 “Saul is hiding behind the supplies”. The crowds were out looking for him – where was he? Hiding trying not to be found … An atheist was lecturing at a University. He wrote on the chalkboard; “God is nowhere.” After his lecture,a Christian student went to the board and separated the letters “W” and “H” of “nowhere” leaving the statement: “God is now here.” How true is that … God not only knows us intimately; He is with us all the time.
We may take David’s words of Psalm 139 in 2 ways …
1. Geographically – Wherever we may go; vertically up to the highest regions of space; or down to the lowest depths of the earth; God is there! Or we may understand them.
2. Metaphorically – referring to the highs and lows of life whether we are up with joy or weighed down with sorrow,He is there with us. In light and life and joy and hope; or in darkness,death,sorrow and disappointment; through all of our life,God promises. HEBREWS 13:5 says “The Lord has promised that He will not leave us or desert us”.. When do you FEEL the furthest from God? It is usually during the tough times of life. Do not try to run from God when times get rough .. In the book of Job,Job was having problems in his life. He refused to curse God for his trouble. God not only knows about what we go through; He is there for us and cares about us.
ROMANS 8:38-39 says For I am convinced that neither death,nor life,nor angels,nor principalities,nor things present,nor things to come,nor powers,nor height,nor depth,nor any other created thing,will be able to separate us from the love of God,which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
How many years of your life have you spent trying to run or hide from God? I want to challenge you today to give up the fight,stop trying to hide and allow yourself to enjoy the love He wants you to enjoy.