Hiding from God

<p>I&nbsp;squeezed my eyes shut and started counting aloud. My fellow third-grade classmates tore out of the room to find a place to hide. After scouring every cabinet, trunk, and closet for what felt like hours, I still couldn&rsquo;t find one of my friends. I felt ridiculous when she finally jumped out from behind a lacey, potted fern hanging from the ceiling. Only her head had been eclipsed by the plant&mdash;the rest of her body had been in plain sight the entire time!</p> <p>Since God is all-knowing, when Adam and Eve &ldquo;hid from [Him]&rdquo; in the garden of Eden, they were always in &ldquo;plain sight&rdquo; (Genesis 3:8). But they weren&rsquo;t playing any childhood game; they were experiencing the sudden awareness&mdash;and shame&mdash;of their wrongdoing, having eaten from the tree God told them not to.</p> <p>Adam and Eve turned from God and His loving provision when they disobeyed His instructions. Instead of withdrawing from them in anger, however, He sought them out, asking &ldquo;Where are you?&rdquo; It&rsquo;s not that He didn&rsquo;t know where they were, but He wanted them to know His compassionate concern for them (v. 9).</p> <p>I couldn&rsquo;t see my friend hiding, but God always sees us and knows us&mdash;to Him we&rsquo;re always in plain sight. Just as He pursued Adam and Eve, Jesus sought us out while we were &ldquo;yet sinners&rdquo;&mdash;dying on the cross to demonstrate His love for us (Romans 5:8). We no longer need to hide.</p>