Christian Writers Circle

Who’s Hiding? Who’s Seeking?
by Brenda D. Flowers

One night, my two oldest grandsons, ages five and four, begged me to read to them under the sheet of my bed. They love to cuddle under our pretend tent.

I showed them the bag of library books and let each one choose a book. Tavis chose the book Five Little Monkeys Play Hide-and-Seek by Eileen Christelow.When I saw the book he chose, I felt a nudging by Holy Spirit, reminding me of a blog post I wrote earlier that day entitled “Hide and Seek.” I forgot I checked out a children’s book about this common game.

In the Bible, when do we read about the first Hide and Seek “game”?

Curious, I began reading at the beginning of Genesis. As I read each verse, word by word, I discovered many new truths. The most important was realizing how intimate the LORD God was with the first man, communicating daily with him.

God prepared a beautiful place for man and woman to live, work, create and grow in relationship. As long as man followed God’s will for his life, there was no shame or hiding.

When I arrived at Genesis 3:8-9, I found the words of the first “game” of Hide-and-Seek:

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Why did all-knowing God ask this question?

Could it have been because He wanted to see how the first man and woman would respond?

I realized God was giving them an opportunity to run to Him, to be honest about their wrong choices, and to seek His forgiveness. Instead, they responded to God by casting blame rather than accepting responsibility. (A temptation we all face daily.)

If God isn’t a loving God, as many people claim today, I believe He wouldn’t have looked for a response from Adam and Eve. He could have removed His presence from mankind for eternity but He didn’t. Or He could have destroyed mankind forever. Instead, God created a plan of restoration. The rest of the Bible is His redemption story.

In our hiding places today, we are asked the same question Adam and Eve heard so long ago, “Where are you?”

The challenge question is, “Are we wanting to be found?”

I love the promise in God’s Word that He loves us so much and still wants to provide for our every need, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6: 33, NKJV)

We read these important words in John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He (Jesus) who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

When we play the daily game of Hide-and-Seek, we can choose to seek Jesus and His righteousness. As we trust Jesus, the fulfillment of our Heavenly Father’s redemption plan, we receive His glorious presence, no longer having to remain alone in a life of sin and shame.

Jesus’ righteousness covers us and we can joyfully cuddle within our Heavenly Father’s sweet presence. We find Him when we realize we were always found.