Today’s Daily Bread ~ Hide and Seek

Hebrews 4:13 – Nothing in creation can hide from Him.  Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes.  This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.

When my daughter was younger, she loved to hide.  She wasn’t too difficult to find…her favorite method was simply shutting her eyes.  If she can’t see us, surely we can’t see her either, right?  We’d play along, calling out, “Where’s Caitlyn?  Has anyone seen Caitlyn?”  Then she’d open her eyes and we’d “find” her. 

I have to wonder if that’s how God sees us sometimes.  I know there have been times in my life when I have shut my spiritual eyes and closed my spiritual ears, as though by blocking out God’s voice He wouldn’t see my sin.  Instead of repenting and doing what I knew I should, I just wouldn’t think about it.

Of course, it never worked.  Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes.  He sees through our justifications as quickly as we see through our children’s excuses.  “But mom, he did it first!”  Is that what we sound like?  “But God, everyone else is doing it!  Surely this isn’t still a sin!?!”

In Psalm 139:2 David writes, “You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my every thought when far away.”  And in verse 4, “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.”

I find that so comforting, and here’s why:  try as we might, we can’t shock God.  We can’t catch Him off guard.  We may disappoint our spouse, our friends, or our co-workers…but nothing we think, say or do comes as a surprise to the One who created us.  Think about it.  Are you ever shocked or appalled when you see a child hit another child?  If you are, get over it.  That’s what they do.  That’s how they’re wired.  We’re all born sinners by nature.  No one has to teach a child how to lie, steal, or assault.  They’re born knowing how.  As parents, it’s our job to guide, nurture and discipline.

God loves us so much, right where we are.  We don’t have to clean ourselves up or whip ourselves into shape to bow at the feet of Jesus.  Every human being on the planet is a child of His, and each has access to His tender mercies and endless grace, if they would only come.  There is nothing you can do to make yourself appear better than you are before the Father.  He knows everything about you.  Everything you’ve ever done.  And He loves you madly.  He loves you with an incomparable love that you will never understand on this side of eternity.  Relish your position today, as a cherished child of the Most High God.

Dear Heavenly Father, how can it be that You could love sinners like us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us, that we might have everlasting life in You?  Forgive us for taking this for granted.  Forgive us for not seeing ourselves as we truly are – precious children of the God of the Universe, created in Your very image.  God, we love You so much, and we humbly bow before You.  Thank You for the work on the cross, and thank You for the precious blood of Your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  It’s in His beautiful name we pray.  Amen.