Hiding

 "Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the Garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The Lord God called to Adam, 'Where are you?' " Genesis 3:8-9....."Hiding from God is the first conditioned reflex recorded in the Bible." Unknown

The other day I took my car in for its 45,000 mile service. I almost always listen to praise and worship music while driving, and though the CD player stopped when I turned off the engine, it would immediately come back on when the car was started again. I noticed when the service was finished and my car returned, that the player was not only off, but the volume had been turned completely down, and the audio system switched over to AM radio. Right there, I thought of the above Scripture and quote. What had been beautiful music to me, obviously wasn't to the one working on my car. He didn't want to listen, and he exercised the proof of the above quote. Those without Him, those who are walking against His light and His will, will always seek in some way to hide from Him. We don't want to hear. We don't want to know. In the end, we don't want the truth. Not about Him, and not about ourselves. So we hide. The thing is, He always knows where we are.

Sin was never to be a part of the human condition. God created us for fellowship with Him. Such fellowship existed between Adam and Eve and the Father. The invasion of sin into that relationship through their disobedience concerning the forbidden fruit changed everything. Sin separates us from Him. Sin caused them to now fear and want to be away from His presence. So, they hid themselves. Their reflex has become ours, and the truth of that is seen throughout our cultures both past and present. Sinful men and women will always seek to hide from a Holy God. When Peter began to understand who Jesus really was, he cried out, "Depart from me, for I'm a sinful man." His presence will always expose our sinfulness. Our reflex will be to hide. We hide by denying Him, ridiculing Him, persecuting Him, fighting Him, and in the end, rejecting Him.

There has not been a more polarizing figure in the history of the human race than Jesus Christ. Who He is cuts through all of our denial and intellectual reasonings connected with Him. Like Isaiah, in His Presence we are undone. In His presence, His Holy Presence, we become aware of how unclean we are. In His presence, we have two choices, be undone, and surrender, or....flee and seek to hide. Which is yours?

I don't speak just to those who have not given their hearts to Him, but to those who profess that they have. Where in our lives are we hiding from Him? Where are we entertaining, indulging in some "secret sin." Where are we harboring thoughts and attitudes that are in conflict with His character? Where, when His Presence is upon us, do we run and hide? We do some of our best hiding in church. We hide in our activities, even in our ministries. We're found everywhere in the church but in His presence. We hide in plain sight. Where might we be doing just that right now?

I don't view that mechanic with any kind of disdain. 40 plus years ago he was me. I was the mocker, the rebel, the one who ran from Him. I will never cease to praise and thank Him that in my hiding, He came seeking. I hid in every avenue of escape I could. Pleasure, relationships, or the pursuit of them, and whatever I could find or use to dull my sense of emptiness. I hid from the truth of my lostness, but He wasn't deterred. As He came to Adam and Eve as they hid in the trees, He came to me in my own hiding place. He found me, brought me out, made me clean, healed and cleansed my sin and fallenness. Has He done so for you? Or are you still hiding? He seeks you. He calls your name. He knows where you are. Do you?

Blessings,

Pastor O