Standing in the middle of the floor with his hands covering his eyes, he thought he was hidden.
I remember when our middle grandson was old enough to understand how to play hide-n-seek with his older brother. But he didn't understand the game completely. When his older brother told him to hide, he simply stood in the middle of the room and covered his eyes. Since he couldn't see anything, he assumed no one could see him.
God gave Jeremiah a hide-n-seek message to deliver to the people who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah: destruction was on the way because of their sinful behavior. They could run, but they couldn't hide from God's hand of judgment.
Jonah also tried running. He thought if he left the place where he had heard God's call that he left God too. But he discovered God wasn't confined to space. Jonah couldn't hide from Him no matter where he went.
The theological term for God being everywhere at once and at all times is omnipresent. That's why I can't truly run from Him. No matter where I go, He's there. Especially if I'm His child. He lives in each one of His children through the presence of His Holy Spirit. Not only is He everywhere, but He also sees everything everyone is doing. My actions and my presence are like an open book He's continuously reading. Always turned to the proper page where His eye is constantly on me.
Sin was why the people of Jeremiah's time were in trouble with God, and sin gets me in dire straits with Him also. Sin is serious-regardless of how we try to tone it down. The wages of sin-if not forgiven or paid by someone else-is death, physical and spiritual.
Adam and Eve tried hiding when they disobeyed God by sewing fig leaves together to cover their newly discovered nakedness-and their shame. Their antics didn't work. God saw beneath the cover. The only solution for running and hiding is repentance. God simply wants us to confess our sins so the relationship between Him and us can be renewed. He wants our best, but sin will ruin it every time.
Don't run and hide from God; rather run to Him. His arms of love are always open.
Prayer: Father, we thank You that You love us enough to thwart our attempts to escape from our responsibility.
Martin Wiles
Hodges, South Carolina, USA
Can Run, Can't Hide
Today's Bible Verse:
"I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me." (Jeremiah 16:17 NLT)
Can Run, Can't Hide
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