Hide and Seek

When thou saidst, Seek ye My

face; my heart said unto Thee,

Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

Psalm 27:8

It was an exciting day for me when at the age of 9, our family moved from one house to another. The house we moved to was right behind the grade school I attended. Our move was only about three blocks, but any kind of move seems to put a family into a whole new world.

The wonderful thing about our new location was that school's playground and it was a huge one. It had every kind of play equipment you could think of. There was a regulation softball field and a full basketball court. There was also a smaller softball field for younger kids. I loved some of the very large bushes that landscaped the school grounds because they were big enough to climb under and build a playhouse underneath the bush. We got by with that until “Shorty”, our maintenance man would discover us and chase us out of the bushes with our dolls, doll clothes and blankets. “Shorty” lived in the basement of the school so he was usually alert to anything going on. All I had to do was cross the street to go to school or to play anywhere on the school grounds after school.

Evenings were the best times to play there. I think every adult has a picture of those evenings after supper when it wasn't dark yet and we could play outside until a parent called us home. It was during those times though that we chose to play our “hiding” games. Sometimes we played Kick the Can. Other times, we played One-Two-Three Release but most of the time we played good ole fashioned Hide and Seek. Think of having a more than half of a block to hide on. Most often though we decided on boundary lines as to how far we could go to hide.

I remember one night when it was getting pretty close to dark. A new girl came to play with us and we were going to play Hide and Seek. She didn't have to be “it” the first time. All she had to do was hide and hide she did. In fact, we all had checked in at THE tree and soon went home because parents were calling. No one even thought about that girl that she hadn't checked in at the tree...we just forgot about the new girl. Her mom came looking for her daughter. A couple of us went to help her look. In those days we didn't think about kidnapping or bad things like that. We looked and found her under one of my favorite bushes. (Where was “Shorty” when we needed him.) She hadn't understood the game. She thought someone would come looking for her so she just stayed put until someone showed up. She was cold and looking a little on the frightened side but was fine. I don't think she ever showed up again to play that game with us.

Do you ever feel like that little girl spiritually speaking? There have been times in my life when I have felt hidden away. I may have felt hidden under piles of problems and concerns. I might be hiding out of choice when feeling very alone, when I really don't want to be bothered by people. Illness might keep me cowering under a “big bush” of my own imaginings. I might even feel like the new kid on the block who doesn't quite understand some unfamiliar rules of life where God has planted me. Bottom line, I just might feel a loneliness that comes from feeling shut out by others and may at times ask the question, “Where is God?”

I have news for us...we are called to be seekers. No matter the games of life we become involved in, we are always to have our antenna's up seeking fellowship and leading from our father.

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” Is. 55:6

Every now and then, our “Faith Button” might get a little out of whack so Hebrews 11:6 encourages us to keep seeking and believing:

“But without faith it is impossible too please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

The comforting thing is that God, our shepherd is always seeking us. He won't leave us under a bush or under a load of circumstances we can't bear alone. Under the worst of circumstances, He is always seeking us out. I love Ezekiel 34:11:

“For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”

If you want a real blessing, some Scripture to cuddle up with, read that 34^th chapter of Ezekiel, verses 11-16 if you need a refresher course regarding that Great Shepherd in our lives who will always seek us out.

The key, however, is for us to not play games with God. We can't hide from Him anyway even though at times we feel like we have done it successfully. He seeks us to draw near...are we seekers though with a strong desire for His care, wisdom and fellowship. He shouldn't have to come looking for us but we certainly should be ever seeing Him out.

Dear Father...don't give up on me. Keep seeking for me when I stray or try to hide from You. Please beat every bush seeking me out and empower me to be ever seeking a consistent relationship with You. I love you...Amen