"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?" -- Jeremiah 23: 23
One sister who has been quiet lately smsed me. She apologised that she's hiding from God.
Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. -- Jeremiah 23: 24
Me? I made a recent announcement that I'll have to disappear from facebook for the rest of the month. And almost immediately, a friend commented that I can run, but I cannot hide.
Can we really not run, can we really not hide?
2 stories came to my mind when I think of running and hiding from God. The first story is that of Jonah. Jonah was famous for running from God. Jonah 1:3 And I always thought it was a hilarious story that because Jonah chose to run away, God had to send a big fish (we suspect it's a whale) to swallow him up! Moral of the story? You can't run away from God and His will!
The second story is the good old story told of Adam and Eve.
They were tempted and then they sinned. And then they tried to hide.
Gen 3:8-9
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
It touches me everytime I read this passage. Because it is a reminder that even when we try to run away or hide, God will still come after us. He will call out "Where are you?" and confront us - with His endless love and grace.
Other parts of scriptures have seen the Lord hide from the unrepentant and sinful generation Isaiah 1:14-16; Jeremiah 33:5 because God is Holy and cannot stand the sight of sin. Just as God the Father had to turn His face away from His one and only begotten Son Jesus Christ when he took upon the sins of the world on the cross...
The psalmists have often cried out in despair "Lord, why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" Psalms 10, Psalms 13 That's an often heartfelt cry when we are in difficult or uncertain circumstances. But I love the conclusions that the psalmists often make - to continue to praise God and trust in Him.
Psalms 22: 23-24
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!
For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;
He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Can we really not run, can we really not hide?
I figured out that we can run. Run to the Father and you'll be kept safe.
Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
I figured out that we can hide. Hide in the shadow of His wings and wallow in His love.
Psalm 17: 8 "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings "
Are you hiding today? Where would you hide?
Are you running today? Who do you run to?
3 comments:
sweet ;)
Exactly how I am feeling right now. Running away from something, lost and without direction. May he be the light that will point us to our direction in life.
Hi Anonymous,
Apologies for the late reply as you can see that I too have been hiding (from cyberspace).
Thank you for sharing. Even though I do not know who you are, my God knows and I believe that He has heard my heartfelt prayer for you -- that you'll find peace in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Please allow me to encourage you with the Word of God from Hebrews 10:36 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."
By the way, all comments for my blog posts are moderated before they are put up. So if you are comfortable, you may leave me a message (or any prayer requests) with your name and contact details. I would be thankful for the privilege to be able to pray for you more specifically.
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