Hide and Seek
Jeremiah 29:12-14 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will let you find me.
Have you ever felt as though God is playing a game of hide and seek with you? Sure He’s out there … somewhere … but where?
Lord what are you up to? What do you have planned? Why are you being so obscure? Have I blown it? Have I done something to offend you? Have I wandered off in the wrong direction?
And one day you wake up and there’s a question nagging away at you, deep inside somewhere: Where has God gone? Where is He?
That very thing actually happened to the nation of Israel. Their whole world had caved in. Instead of enjoying the great blessings of the Promised Land, through their disobedience; through their rebellion; God allowed the Babylonians to come in, destroy Jerusalem, destroy the temple, rip the heart out of their nation and take them into exile, as slaves in Babylon.
And there they’d been for almost seventy years. Suffering, wondering, questioning. Sound familiar? But as their time of exile was coming to an end, God had this to say to them:
Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will let you find me. (Jeremiah 29:12-14)
Some days, it does feel as though we’ll never find God amidst the troubles of life; that we’ll never really know Him; that He doesn’t want to be found. But that simply isn’t true.
Yes, like a good father, sometimes He does take a step back and let us experience the consequences of our mistakes. But just like the father in the story of the prodigal son, He is ready and waiting to take us back with such great enthusiasm, when we finally come to our senses and set course for home.
Are you perhaps feeling a little lost today? As though there’s some huge distance between you and God? As though you need to shout clear across the universe for Him to hear you? Then listen up:
When you call on His name, when you go to Him and pray, He will listen. When you search for Him with all your heart, you will find Him.
Because His promise is that He will allow you to find Him.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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Carol Bayley
Interesting. But why did God let all the wars go on?? I thought He was a loving God. To teach us a lesson? Bit ...
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Interesting. But why did God let all the wars go on?? I thought He was a loving God. To teach us a lesson? Bit harsh to let all those people and innocent children die??
Carol Bayley
Berni, I just can’t understand how God could let all the death and destruction happen. I thought He was a kind ...
more
Berni, I just can’t understand how God could let all the death and destruction happen. I thought He was a kind and good God, yet throughout the Bible, it tells of some of the fighting and wars he made happen. That is what confuses me.