Where Are You?

Do you remember being a kid and playing hide and seek? The thrill of finding the perfect hiding place and waiting for ‘it’ to find you? The better the hiding place, the better the game. But, if you were too good at the game, eventually you get bored hiding and sneak out to a more obvious spot.  

Many of us are still playing a game of hide and seek. It's just on a very different scale.  Jesus is ‘It’ and some of us have chosen excellent hiding spots to keep him from finding us.  

Over-booked schedules make great hiding places. “I can’t possibly make it to church or help with anything because x, y, and z take up all my free time” rolls easily off the tongue. Some hide behind long-past hurts that happened in church. Statements like, “So and so did me wrong and hurt me deeply a decade ago and I can never trust the church again” keep them from fully investing. Others hide behind the mental barrage of statements like “I have too much sin” or “there’s no way God will ever forgive everything I’ve done.”  

Hiding in plain sight.  

“Where are you?” 

God already knows where you are. He knows. He doesn’t ask the question because he can't find you. He asks because he is giving you the opportunity to take stock and give an honest answer. So, what’s your answer? 

If God whispered in your ear, where are you, what would your answer be? Would you be able to boldly shout with arms waving in the air, here I am? Or, are you shrinking further into the bushes and hoping he doesn’t hear the frantic beating of your heart?  

He knows you are there.  

Maybe it’s time to stop hiding and say, “Here I am, Lord.”