Hide and Seek

I loved playing the game of Hide and Seek with my cousins when I was young. I remember especially loving to play in our grandmom’s attic where there were wonderful nooks and crannies. I was the cousin who showed righteous indignation when anyone tried to peek or didn’t count high enough when we were finding our hiding places. I was a stickler for following the rules.

When my boys were young and my work days were spent with first graders, I loved reading the book Runaway Bunny. It told of the steadfast love the mother bunny had for her young son who wanted to run away and hide.

Psalm 139 reminds me of that book from so long ago. It tells in so many ways how we cannot escape the Lord. He knows when we sit down and when we get up. He is acquainted with all our ways and the sentences we speak before we even form those sentences in our minds. Verse 5 says, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” Some might see that action of hemming in as a negative concept, but I think God means that our territory, our path, will not wander into terrible unknowns. He will keep us near just as any good shepherd will keep his sheep.

This psalm is wonderful to read when you are feeling low. It is a beautiful reminder that God knows us inside and out, better than we really know ourselves. I think we cannot begin to understand the depth of that love and caring.

As a new year stretches out before us, I think it is safe to say that we have probably all taken the time to contemplate where our time was invested last year and where we see our lives going, what we have done or haven’t done and what we would like to accomplish. We have probably all had times when we have paused and added up our life amounts and felt that we have worked hard but have just not gotten anywhere.

At some time in our lives, we have probably all felt under-appreciated, overlooked, underpaid, or even unnecessary. Bringing those dead-end thoughts to Psalm 139 and God is just the right place to go. God shows us the view from the top so that we can see our lives from His perspective.

This wonderful psalm assures us that God knows us. God knows our heart, our fears, our thoughts, motives, dreams, and frustrations. He knows our past, present, and future. He gets us. And never let that sound unnerving. An Old Testament practice was bestowing a blessing on someone. In the same way, our Heavenly Father who truly knows us bestows blessings on us, borne out of love, that mark our place in His family.

We are all wanted by God. Over and over in the Bible, we see that affirmed. We are called God’s beloved, chosen, dearly loved. We are told that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God made us. Verse 13 says, “I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.” Those adverbs make plain that after God made each of us, He threw away the mold. We are each totally unique, a one-of-a-kind model, fashioned with awe-inspiring skill by the Almighty. There is no one in history like you or like me. God gave each of us a personality, innate abilities, spiritual gifts, and a particular purpose. Each one of us is a treasured creation made in God’s likeness.

God does have plans for us. He has fashioned opportunities for His purpose and our good. His thoughts are on us constantly. He greets us each morning with fresh mercy and grace; new opportunities and adventures that He will readily walk through with each of us. He loves your company and mine, and He has specific plans that only we can fulfill.

There is nowhere on earth that God isn’t. Perhaps God waits in the hall closet, so excited when we are just on the other side of the door, searching, getting closer to finding God in unexpected ways and places.

What if seeing God at work in the world was as simple and beautiful as child’s play? Maybe that innocent trusting spirit and wide-open eyes are God’s deepest wish for us. Let’s think that IS His special wish for us as we begin a new year in His creation.

My hope as this year 2024 begins is that you hear God whispering, “I am so glad that you are my child. Take my hand. We’ll run this race together.” Maybe someone in the past said words that still ring in your ears today or didn’t say the words you were longing to hear. Maybe you have felt rejected: verbally, emotionally, or physically. Don’t let what another human says or does define you. Look higher. You matter so much to God that He sent His only Son just for you. You belong. You are cherished. You are His—Forever.