Hide and Seek

 

“‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.”

—Jeremiah 29:13-14

“Ready or not, here I come!”

Most anyone who hears those words will remember playing Hide and Seek as a child. On warm summer evenings it was fun to play outside where you could find any manner of wonderful places to get out of sight while the person who was “it” counted to whatever number the group had set.

If you could stump the person looking you felt clever. But, if the search went on too long, you could get bored and wish they would hurry up and find you.

God shows us His mysterious Person by telling us to seek Him. He is not always evident. Yet, He wants us to seek until we find Him. The better we get to know Him, and the closer we stick to His Word, the easier it becomes to find Him.

It was no fun as a child to hide and have no one look for you. It was no fun to desire to play the game and have no one want to play with you. That never happens in this “seeking God” game of life.

God delights to be found. When we see Him in another person, when He answers a prayer for us, or when He brings us a wonderful surprise we know could only come from His hand, we know we have found Him.

The Prophet Isaiah writes these words in Isaiah 55:6:

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

God wants us to seek Him. He invites us to do so. He very much wants us to play this amazing “game.” But, we can only find Him when we live close to Him and search for Him. And, like children, the more we play this special “game,” the more often we will find Him.

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know You, a heart to seek You, wisdom to find You, conduct pleasing to You, faithful perseverance in waiting for You, and a hope of finally embracing You.

—Thomas Aquinas