Hide and Seek
As a parent of 4 kids, it’s not uncommon for Kia or I to stop in the middle of a sentence and say, “Where’d _____ go?” We find ourselves asking each other this all the time and everywhere – at home, at friends, at church, in restaurants, at parks.
It’s like a game of hide and seek, except no one is intentionally hiding (usually).
Where’s God?
Ever find yourself asking that question about God? You’re going about your business when all of a sudden you wonder, “Where in the world is God? If anyone should be around right now, it’s Him.”
I think it’s more common than we let on – especially us in the church world. We go about life, doing things we think we are supposed to do, and then we look around and wonder where God is.
Most of the time, it’s when crisis hits, but not always.
Is He hidden?
Job asks the “Where’s God?” question. In fact, Job asks the question over and over and over. It’s probably where the saying, “The patience of Job” comes from. Job says it in various ways and in various contexts, but it’s always the same basic question:
Where is God?
I especially like how Job words it in Job 23:9 (NLT)
I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I look to the south, but he is concealed.
Is God hidden?
It’s a great question. Too often when we most need Him, God seems to be playing a cosmic game of hide and seek.
Unfortunately, the lesson from Job is, there is no easy answer. For some reason, God does stay in the background sometimes, and the only real answer is to keep searching even when the searching itself seems unfair.
The lesson we see in Job is persistence. He asks and asks…knocks and knocks…until God answers. When God does answer it’s not necessarily pretty, and it feels long overdue, but it is right on time.
God is near
Best of all, though God, at times, feels distant or hidden or non-responsive, He is truly always near. I think our human-ness gets in the way of that comprehension too often. Our timeline does not mesh with His. Our eyes don’t see what He sees.
So keep looking and searching and asking and knocking. God is near and always on time.
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