Hide and Seek…
This past weekend my sweet granddaughter spent the day with me. She wanted to play hide and seek. She would go hide and I would say…where is Ayla? Easily, I could see where she was but because she could not see me – she thought she was hidden.
Small children think that if they can’t see you…then you can’t see them. I would find her and she smiled and laughed then give me a big hug! Then she would say, “Gigi now you go hide.” She would close her eyes and start her count down.
As I keep reading deeper and deeper into the book of Jeremiah – it is showing me that we may be hiding our ways from God and thinking He can’t see us – acting like a small child.
The Israelites were closing their eyes to their sinful ways and really convinced that God could not see them sinning. The prophet Jeremiah kept warning them to stop sinning and turn back to God, but they did not have ears to listen.
Our God is a God that sees everything! He cannot be deceived. He is the same today as He was back in the book of Jeremiah. He is an unchanging and all powerful God.
“I am watching them closely, and I see everything. They cannot hope to hide from me.” Jeremiah 16:17
You may be saying…I don’t intentionally sin and hide it from God. I’m not doing bad stuff like the Israelites, I’m good Lisa. Well – maybe you are good, but… Jeremiah warns us that “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked.” 17:9
So…we must learn from the Word and ask the Lord to search our hearts even if we think we are good. There are many scriptures on heart searching in the Bible and it is very clear that sin is a matter of the heart.
“But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10
“Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart!” Proverbs 15:11
Heather shared this scripture last week…
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along a path of everlasting life.”
Psalm 139:23-24
We may not even know we are hiding sin from God, He may need to show us. For example – pride, envy, jealousy, or gossip – these could be sins rooted deep inside of us that have become part of our everyday living. Sin is sin you all, even if it has become a habit in your life and you are unaware of it.
We need to turn to God and ask Him to do a “heart check.” By experience I can say, these “heart checks” are usually not fun, but much needed in our faith walks. Pray Psalm 139:23-24 to God. Ask Him, “Am I closing my eyes and hiding sin, doing what I think is best and what pleases myself vs what pleases You?”
Sin is never easy to write about, but God put it heavy on my heart for us ALL to be reminded to keep seeking Him. He is our source and we need to follow His ways. We ALL sin no matter who you are, so we all can relate to this blog.
I had my eyes closed and was hiding my sin for many years before learning God’s ways. God showed me through His Word, church, and many Christian teachers the ways He wants me to follow. I turned to Him and asked Him to search my heart, then when the conviction of sin was revealed, repented and ask for forgiveness.
How awesome is this you all!!!! He forgave me. He freely has given ALL of us His Son and through Jesus we can be forgiven. It is a choice that we all can take part in! #Jesus #forgiveness
For sure I still fail and fail often when it comes to sin – offending God unfortunately by my thoughts, words, and actions. This is not my intention to do but we are human and we will not be perfect. We will NEVER be perfect, so get it out of your head that you can be! I have learned this the hard way on my faith journey, but someone else needs to know out in the social media world that we are humans and only God is God and we are not!
Lessons are hard! But…I must say in my “heart check” seasons of life, I did learn how to open my eyes and know He is there. And when I seek Him and find Him…I smile and give Him a big hug…just like my little Ayla does with me.
Go seek God, it is the best joy you will ever find!!
Stay Rooted,
Lisa and Heather
