Hide and Seek

I remember playing hide and seek with my kids when they were really little. Eyes covered, slowly I would count to ten as the pitter patter of little feet echoed in the space around me. 1…2…3…4… the sounds of giggles filled my ears as they searched for the perfect spot. Eventually, I could hear them settling in their hiding places and I would uncover my eyes and tell them I was coming to find them.  Making loud noises, I walked around the house speaking in full volume, letting them know I was looking for them, but couldn’t find them. 

Each time I would get close, I could hear little giggles and see little fingers and toes sticking out from where they were hiding. But I would press on, wondering out loud where they were and if I would ever be able to find them. If I took long enough their patience would wane from the waiting and they would jump out from where they were hiding and exclaim, with a big smile, “here I am, Mama!” Even though I knew exactly where to find them the whole time, I would still act surprised when they jumped out, letting them know that I thought I was never going to find them. They would squeal with excitement and then ask if we could play again. 

when we play hide and seek

This is not far off from how we are as grown women. There are aspects of ourselves that we’re willing to show those around us, to be vulnerable and present before God, but the rest of us we keep hidden. We fear putting it all out there opens us up to rejection, feeling inadequate and exposed.  It’s almost as if we’re waiting for someone to find the hidden parts of us and affirm them. It’s so much easier to be vulnerable when someone else makes the first move. Gosh, it can be so painful to think about taking those risks. Staying partially hidden always, especially in the digital age of social media, seems so much safer. 

The Bible is filled with pages of those who played hide and seek with God, and with others. Yet, still God sought them out, found them, healed them, blessed them as they began walking in that healing, they found freedom. Our unwillingness to do the work, results in us missing out on the freedom that comes as a result. God has so many beautiful plans for your life, He doesn’t want you to miss out on a single one by choosing to keep parts of yourself locked away. When we find Jesus, we discover what true intimacy looks like with Him. The closer we commune with Him, the less we worry about what others think, we’re only concerned with His thoughts about us. 

What does it look like to live fully and completely confident in who Jesus says we are? There’s no part of the earth you could move to that He wouldn’t chase after you. After all, how could someone abandon their workmanship? Your creator, who named you, who calls you by name, desires for you to know Him as deeply as He knows you. It’s so easy, with the heavenly divide, to think that we’re an afterthought for God. He created us, dropped us here on earth and moved on to the next thing. Oh friend, this couldn’t be further from the truth. As a result of this thinking, we play hide and seek with Jesus, appearing only when we need something from Him and doing our best to fly below the radar the rest of the time. 

Are you willing to allow Him to turn areas of your life where you’ve been burdened by your past, your shame, your insecurities into something beautiful? At what point are you willing to jump out and say, “Here I am Jesus!”?

If you enjoyed this devotional, I would love to invite you to purchase my (Be) Known Bible study. Seven weeks, filled with devotionals and a study guide to leaning into what it means to be fully known by God.