“The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’ The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything! —she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man: “Where are you?” He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.” (Genesis 3:1-10 The Message Bible)
Earlier this week my wife and I had a guest for dinner. After dinner we talked about a variety of subjects: church related projects, childhood memories, the things going on in the world today, and a number of other things. At one point I showed our guest a picture of four young adults who are now senior citizens. Our guest looked at each one of them and accurately described traits that were for the most part right on target. Just looking at the picture, the guest was able to detect things about these individuals, things that were not easily detected by most people’s eyes.
But listen to this, my friend! With God, there is no hiding place. God knows us inside and out. He knows what we are thinking. He knows what we are doing, He knows what we have done. He knows what we are hiding. You know that I’m right about it, don’t you?
Well, my counsel to you via this meditation is that whatever it is that you think you are hiding, God sees it. There is no hiding place. Therefore, don’t just hide it, stop it. And after stopping it leave what you were hiding in “never-again land.” Think about this with integrity and act expeditiously to be what the Lord desires you to be, a righteous witness for Him. Have a great Friday! Be blessed!
“I wanna tell you that there’s no hiding place down here. Don’t you know there’s no hiding place down here? Yeah, I went to the rock to hide my face, but the rock cried out, no, no hiding place down here.” (Lyrics by Dorothy Coates, 1928)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
This is a great eye opener for those of us that think we can hide something from the Lord. I know that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. I don’t try to hide my missteps; I know better. I do try to ask for forgiveness and work on staying on the right path. You can’t hide….
The old song was right, when it comes to God seeing us: “Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.” Be blessed!