Hide and seek is one of the favorite games of young children, but do adults play it too? Do we conceal ourselves, the woman that God created us to be, behind a veneer of “What I Think I Should Be”? Do I costume myself to blend with the scenery so that I am hiding from God and everyone else? Did God create me to pretend to be someone else and not myself?
When God created Adam and Eve, he ordained that they live in the Garden in complete honestly and freedom to be exactly who He had made them to be. However, with original sin came the human instinctive desire to hide from God and from others. No longer could man and woman walk openly, hiding nothing; instead, mankind became a group of professional “hiders.”
Through God’s redemptive plan, He has called: “Come out; come out; wherever you are!” He has called us to reveal ourselves – our sins, our hurts, and our desires, so that He can bring restoration to our lives through the sacrifice of His Son. If we will own our needs, He can bring new life through the healing power of the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Only through the confession of our need can He begin the process of restoration. The need to hide, a direct result of our sin nature, separates us from God who can make all things new again in our lives.
Not only do we hide from God, but also we hide from other people. We mask ourselves in costumes of happiness and success when our hearts are breaking within us and our lives seem to be totally out of control. We may be on a downward spiral, but no one is ever allowed to see our falling. We hide it so well! God never intended for us to live this way. He wants us to be connected with others in healthy relationships. That is why Paul uses the analogy of a body to describe the church in a letter to the Corinthians. We need connection, and from that connection flows strength, healing, and powerful life. Isolation will destroy; connection will sustain us.
So do we need to hide? NO! For our survival, we need to run to God, expose our needs, and receive His healing. And we should never neglect making connections with other believers and confessing that we are not superwomen so that God’s sustaining grace can be ministered to our hearts through the Body of Christ. No longer should we pretend to be what we are not. God is calling us to stop the hiding so that He can begin our healing. I hear God calling to me again today: “Come out; come out; wherever you are!” He wants to commune with me.
When God created Adam and Eve, he ordained that they live in the Garden in complete honestly and freedom to be exactly who He had made them to be. However, with original sin came the human instinctive desire to hide from God and from others. No longer could man and woman walk openly, hiding nothing; instead, mankind became a group of professional “hiders.”
Through God’s redemptive plan, He has called: “Come out; come out; wherever you are!” He has called us to reveal ourselves – our sins, our hurts, and our desires, so that He can bring restoration to our lives through the sacrifice of His Son. If we will own our needs, He can bring new life through the healing power of the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Only through the confession of our need can He begin the process of restoration. The need to hide, a direct result of our sin nature, separates us from God who can make all things new again in our lives.
Not only do we hide from God, but also we hide from other people. We mask ourselves in costumes of happiness and success when our hearts are breaking within us and our lives seem to be totally out of control. We may be on a downward spiral, but no one is ever allowed to see our falling. We hide it so well! God never intended for us to live this way. He wants us to be connected with others in healthy relationships. That is why Paul uses the analogy of a body to describe the church in a letter to the Corinthians. We need connection, and from that connection flows strength, healing, and powerful life. Isolation will destroy; connection will sustain us.
So do we need to hide? NO! For our survival, we need to run to God, expose our needs, and receive His healing. And we should never neglect making connections with other believers and confessing that we are not superwomen so that God’s sustaining grace can be ministered to our hearts through the Body of Christ. No longer should we pretend to be what we are not. God is calling us to stop the hiding so that He can begin our healing. I hear God calling to me again today: “Come out; come out; wherever you are!” He wants to commune with me.
