Then I heard ‘You cannot hide from God’. Then I wondered to myself, My God, what does this mean? Do humans, mere mortals try to hide from God? Can human beings hide from God?
As usual, I went on to inquire from the Internet what information I can find that addresses the subject of hiding from God.
The first information that came to me was the case of Adam and Eve. In the book of Genesis, after Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, the bible says ‘Adam and Eve hid themselves’. Yet, God could see them. In the book of Hebrews 4:13, scriptures tell us that ‘And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we must do. Therefore, Adam and Eve’s attempt to hide from God was an exercise in futility.
Though We Hide, Yet God Sees
In the book of Amos, Amos 9:3 the Prophet Amos says of God “Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; And though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent and it will bite them.
In the book of Jeremiah, 16:17, God says “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. And in chapter 23: 24 of the book of Jeremiah, God says “Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
Furthermore, in the New Testament, Luke 8:17, God says ‘For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.’
It is Impossible to Hide from God
The above references are but a few in the bible where it is indicated that it is impossible for humans to hide from God. This thought process then drew me to the question of ‘why would a human hide from God?’ In my search for an answer, I came across a short article by a writer called Sumeshnee Reddy which succinctly answers my question of why we hide from God. Below is the answer she provided.
When Life Is Good
Sumeshnee writes that when life is good and we can make good and healthy choices, we rejoice with God in this, and believe He is patting our back, saying “Well done!” However, when we make a mistake or mess up, we tend to not go to God with it. We hide. We tend to be like Adam and Eve, who hid away from God, or like Cain who left the presence of God to settle elsewhere. (Genesis 3:9-10 & Genesis 4:16) But God did not leave him.
Why Do We Hide
Why do we do this? Why do we hide? God never leaves us nor forsakes us. (Hebrews 13:5 NIV) I once heard a pastor say, that over his many years of pastoring, people say they made good choices when indeed there was no choice made. For example, the pastor said a man or a woman would easily pat himself or herself on the back and proudly say I overcame a temptation to commit fornication or adultery when in reality, he or she was not in any way attracted to the individual. I found that example quite interesting.
However, I must admit, that there are people who struggle with right or wrong decisions and are guided by the Holy Spirit because they invited the Holy Spirit to help them overcome their flesh. And in these instances, the Holy Spirit helped to ‘calm’ them down. On occasions like this, God is pleased with us because we have made Him proud. We overcame the temptation by God’s grace. While others struggle a bit with the temptation and give in and say ‘God, please let me sin this one time more and I will change’. God help us!
God does not move away from us.
God is not embarrassed by us, and we do not get demoted to be outcasts because we made mistakes or wrong chttps://www.linkedin.com/in/esijolone-okorodudu-754b4338/hoices. Yet how many of us do this? We say things like “God, I can’t feel your presence!” or “God, where are you?” Unfortunately, when we condemn ourselves or feel guilt, we tend to step out of the word and good fellowship. We isolate ourselves and hide away from the one who wants nothing more than to embrace us and say, “It’s going to be ok; I love you, I am here. I am not going anywhere.” Therefore, it is ok to be ‘naked’ before God and not be ashamed; for he has already seen our ‘nakedness’.
I believe, that even outside the God spectrum, everything we do eventually comes out in the open sooner or later. The thing always ends up in the open. As they say, it becomes an open secret. Therefore, it is best to ask for the Grace of God to help us avoid sins that put us to shame and embarrassment not only to God, and others but also to ourselves.
Life of Moses
Looking at the life of Moses, who murdered an Egyptian, the fact is God still sought him out and worked through him, a murderer. (Exodus 3:4 NIV) God found Moses, even when Moses was not seeking the Lord. God always goes looking for his lost sheep. He is, after all, the good shepherd. (John 10:11-12 NIV) God does not see the outward appearance but rather, He looks at the heart. Even though our hearts may try to condemn us, God never does. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things (1 John 3:20 NKJV)
The Conscience- The Little Whisper
Therefore, as children of God and as Christians, we have a conscience in the form of the little whisper that lets us know we are stepping out of God’s rules and regulations. If we listen to that voice, we should know when we have stepped out of line with God. At this point, we should seek repentance before God, by confessing to God our sinful deeds and asking God for forgiveness with a commitment not to sin again and to avoid all occasions of sins.
And guess what? Our compassionate God, Our Merciful God, and Our Gracious God is always willing, ready, and able to give us another chance to come back to His Light and Love. We must remember that it is because of our sins, that God gave up His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross of Calvary so that we ALL can be redeemed and saved from eternal damnation and enter eternal life in Heaven.
Encouragement
Therefore, to conclude, I encourage Us All, not to hide from God but continuously seek His face so we can benefit from the redemptive power of the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and by faith confess that Jesus is Lord and receive forgiveness and freedom from the burden and curses of SIN.
Praise Be To God Almighty, Praise Be To Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Praise Be To The Holy Ghost.
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