Almost every kid, from almost every culture has played Hide and Seek. There for sure is a version in almost every country given that it is an instinctual game whose earliest roots are traced in ancient Greece. How thrilling it is really to hide from the “it,” and how fun it is to find those who are hiding!
As followers of Jesus, we can definitely say that we have been found! That even though we may have purposely hid ourselves and burrowed in sinfulness, our one blameless, and perfect King did not stop until He found us and got us back.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
Once in our lives, we may have hid from God. It may be because of a favorite sin, habitual sinfulness, or even rebellion. But such reasons never discouraged our gracious and merciful Savior to call us back to Himself. He pro-actively looks for us, encouraging us to follow Him. And when we do not, He patiently waits for us to come to our senses, declare our full dependence to Him, and live the life He has planned for us.
The gospel reveals that Jesus tells parables upon parables of finding the lost. Such a picture tells us that Jesus will do everything He can to bring us back and reconcile us with God our Father.
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders.” Luke 15:4-5
If we are currently hiding ourselves from God, and do not want to reach out because we think we are not clean enough to be in His presence, we are truly mistaken. God meets us where we are, and He is perfectly fine with us following Him even if we are not yet fully clean, fully sinless, because in reality we will never be.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9
When we decide to be found by Jesus, all we have to do is to repent from our sins and step away from our sinful lifestyle. After that, when we accidentally fall into sin, we should stand up, pick-up ourselves, pray for God’s forgiveness, and strive to follow His teachings. He promises to strengthen us, He promises to help us endure, and He promises to remain merciful.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
And so, let us stop hiding from the Lord, and instead start seeking Him. Because we all know that God is pleased when we seek Him and His will.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Luke 15:3-7 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you hiding yourself from God because you feel unworthy? How will His assurance of mercy and grace help you decide to allow yourself to be found by Him?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for your relentless pursuit of me. For redeeming me, and reconciling me with God the Father. Please grant me the confidence to continue seeking You and following Your ways. Amen.