No Escape

One of my favorite memories of my children when they were little was when they put their hands over their faces and peeked through their little fingers just enough so they could see me. When I asked them, “Where did you go? Where are you?” they giggled like crazy and pulled their hands away from their faces, thinking I had really thought they disappeared. I would then act surprised, as if I had really just then been able to see them. Small children enjoy hiding from their parents, only to laugh from behind their “hiding place” which immediately gives away their location. However, they think you have no idea where they are until they actually see you.

The odd thing is, many adults play this game too but with God. They think He won’t find them out if they are sneaky enough or if nobody else sees or hears them. “Surely God did not hear that little white lie I told or that tiny bit of gossip I told about one of my friends,” or, “It is just a little piece of candy I stole out of the bulk candy bin. Nobody was around and I am sure God would not care about a little piece of candy that nobody will even notice is gone.”

The difference between the two above scenarios is that the first one is done in pure innocence and fun. Tragically, some people actually believe that this carries into adulthood and use this “game” to try to continue fooling others, even God (so they think). However, just like I could see my little boy when he thought he was hidden (by merely covering his eyes with his hands), so God can see us when we think absolutely nobody notices or even cares. This can be scary for some people to come to this realization, but for those who really know and love the Lord, this is a great comfort!

Psalm 139:8-10 says, “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.…” Just think of it! The God of the universe who created the entire solar system, the billions of stars within it (and names each one) and created everything from nothing sees each one of us at all times, whether we are on the mountain top riding the wings of eagles and feel like we can overcome the world or when we just received the most tragic news we ever imagined possible and are spiraling into the depths of depression.

Those moments when we ask God out of desperation, “Where are you??! I need you now!!” he continues to be right there, even though we cannot physically see him and even when we cannot sense his presence at that moment and we think that surely he stepped out on a coffee break. I have been there more than a few times when I hit a very low dark point in my journey (of life), during a crisis or in the middle of a highly stressful situation and cried out to God in desperation, only to hear silence. However, during those times, I remind myself of the plethora of scriptures throughout the Bible that promise me God will never leave me or forsake me and that no matter where I am at on this planet, I cannot possibly even try to hide from God, even if I wanted to!

No matter what you are facing in this season of life, remember that you are never hidden from God’s view, even when you believe you have fallen through the cracks and are invisible to God...even if you feel invisible to everyone else. Our dark moments are like the little hands of a child that temporarily obscure our vision and make us think we are invisible until the hands (or dark situations) are pulled away and all is visible again. We, as parents, can still see the little one from behind their hands just as God, our heavenly Father, can see us through the darkness. Only, instead of God playing along by asking, “Where are you? Where did you go?” he simply says with perfect strength and confidence, “I already see you and everything is going to be okay. Things may look dark temporarily and you may not see me, but I still see you. No matter what.”

Thank you, Father.

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