Lamentations 3:25, The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
The game of hide-and-seek is a very popular childhood pastime. There are many versions and ways one can play this favorite game. I remember looking at hidden picture puzzles and word searches while growing up, and I still enjoy those somewhat today. However, in Lamentations 3, the prophet Jeremiah, “the weeping prophet,” was lamenting the fact that he felt God was hiding from him. Honestly, we have all felt this way from time to time. Although we know that God is everywhere and that He is always with us, there are times in our lives when we feel that God is “hidden.”
There are several passages throughout the Bible that mention that God hides His face or hides Himself. One reason God would deliberately hide Himself from one of His own is found in Isaiah 59:1-2, which says, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. God cannot look at sin, so He hides His face from it. When Jesus was on the cross, He had the sin of the whole world placed on Him, and God turned His back on His own Son because He could not look at sin.
Another reason God will hide His face from His children is to find out if we really want to find Him or if we will really seek Him. The word seek is a little more forceful than just the word look. Seeking requires a little more effort and commitment. Seeking is more of an endeavor than just looking. I have heard it said that nothing is really lost until Mom can’t find it! (That certainly holds true in our household.)
Isaiah 55:6, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: This verse indicates to us that there may come a time in our Christian lives when God cannot be found, so we must determine to seek the Lord while He may be found. Here are a few ways the Bible explains how we can be successful in seeking the Lord.
- Seek the Lord with our whole hearts. (Deuteronomy 4:29) God is not pleased with half-hearted Christians. If we are going to seek Him, we must seek Him with our whole hearts and souls.
- Set our hearts and souls to seek the Lord. (I Chronicles 22:19) The word set in this verse means “to fix firmly; to predetermine.” We all have heard the statement, “People do what they want to do.” This applies to our walks with God as well. Anything we do in the Christian life is done because we determine to do it. Just as the Christian life does not happen by accident, we will not find God by accident.
- Prepare our hearts to seek the Lord. (II Chronicles 12:14) Rehoboam committed evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. A few chapters earlier, King Rehoboam sought counsel of the older men from whom his father, Solomon, had sought counsel. However, Rehoboam rejected the counsel and decided to seek counsel from his contemporaries or “buddies.” Rejecting this godly counsel eventually led him to do evil in God’s sight by rejecting the Lord and refusing to seek Him. Preparing to seek the Lord is an important principle to instill in our children at a young age. We should also encourage them to seek godly counsel. Proverbs 8:17 states, I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.I have heard this Scripture likened to seeking God early in the day, and I do believe that applies. However, I also believe this could apply to seeking God early in one’s life as well. We should expose our children to godly influences early in their lives so that they can prepare to seek the Lord later in life.
- Seek the Lord and His strength. (Psalm 105:4) I will be the first to admit that women are the weaker vessels. My husband and I have remodeled two different houses in recent years. Though I was able to help him with some projects, I could not handle most of the jobs that my husband could. I am so glad that I did not need to rely on my own strength to get our house remodeled! Even more thrilling to me is the fact that I do not need to rely on my own strength to get through my Christian life. I can seek the Lord and HIS strength to help me in every situation.
Whenever we feel that God is hidden, let us determine to seek for God while He may be found.
by Erin Montgomery
