Have you ever seen or engaged a game of hide and seek with a toddler? Maybe you have a child, have babysat, or watched a mother in engagement on a bus or train. Initially, the foundation of the game begins with simply covering baby’s eyes in a peek-a-boo fashion. This aligns with the initial comprehension level of the little one. You disappeared when eyes were covered, reappeared as the obstacle was removed. Right?
As the child starts to get a little older, maybe now they’re able to walk, you shift the game. Rather than sitting stationary in one spot, you actually leave the room. You hide directly outside of the door so that the moment the little one comes to search for you, you can surprise them, and be found. The excitement!
But then, you move a little further away. The little one looks for you in the same place they’ve before had the exhilarating experience. But you’re not there. They stand, look around, waiting for you to pop out. Why haven’t you appeared yet?
You wait, giving their little brain the opportunity to grow and develop, allowing room for that expansion of thought. You stay silent, allowing them to figure it out. The little who is the overthinker may become a little anxious. Though there’s no pending danger, they may be a bit anxious. Did you leave? Will you be found again? On the other hand, is the more adventurous little. This seeking, or searching out is like taking in a breath of fresh air. And they lean into it fully. It’s a new experience with the excitement of reaching the goal (finding you) to drive them. And once they’ve accomplished that goal, bursts of cheer and laughter comes forth like the sun rising to announce a new day. The process of development has begun.
Sometimes, in our lives, we can feel like God is essentially engaging with us in this sort of effort of hide and seek. We don’t see or feel him in Get place we last looked. Or we don’t hear him in the same manner. And so we get upset. God, have you left? Are you here? Do you hear?
He’s there. But now you’ve grown. And it’s time for greater maturity. Which means your “seek” has to increase. He’s being intentional about your development. So maybe you have to walk more through the house. Maybe you even have to leave the house. Perhaps, like Abraham you have to trust and go until you find the place “he WILL show you”, so you’ll feel as though you have no instruction. But you do. Go. That’s the instruction. Maybe not the steps you desire, but an instruction all the same. Move. Seems simple enough. Yet, there’s so much attached- possibly including uncertainty.
But rest assured, he still has a watchful eye over you and won’t look away. He’s determined about you and hasn’t changed his mind. He won’t. How he feels about you is set. It’s an even greater guarantee than being set in stone. Stones can be broken. His thoughts of you never could. There may be a requirement of a shift or change on your part- changing your posture, your mentality, your physical location. But he’s there waiting for your arrival. And when you find him, oh the satisfaction- even if what he has to say now is uncomfortable. But the reward of the seek is getting to him, just as when you were a child.
“I found him!”
“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NLT
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
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