Did you enjoy playing hide and seek when you were a kid? I remember everyone always fighting over who got to hide and who had to seek. Everyone always preferred to hide, and no one liked to be the seeker. Why? Seeking involves work and that work doesn’t end until you find someone. I think the game of hide and seek can often parallel how we live out our Christianity. However, it is important to remember a few rule variations for playing hide and seek with God.
#1 – Never Hide when the Seeker is All-Knowing: In the game of hide and seek, there is a great joy in finding the ultimate hiding place-a place that even the best seekers can never find. However, in our walk with the Lord no such hiding places exist. Psalm 139:7-8 says “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” If we can’t hide from Him, then that means we must be the seeker.
#2 – Peeking is Allowed and Encouraged: One of the most notable rules of hide and seek is “No Peeking”. However, if we are the seeker, it is vital that we not only peek but that we never take our eyes off of the Lord. When God can’t be found, many assume God is hiding, but God doesn’t hide from us. Instead, we just take our eyes off of Him. During Josiah’s reign, the entire nation had taken their eyes off the Lord, but 2 Chronicles 24:3 records that in the 8th year of Josiah’s reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the Lord. If we have taken our eyes off of Him, it is time to seek again.
#3 – Seek Him First: As a child, sometimes shorter attention spans can quickly distract the seeker from accomplishing their goal. Seeking can quickly become replaced by a game of tetherball or a jump rope, while the hider is left wondering if anyone will ever find him. The same is true in our relationship with the Lord. Even as adults distractions are just as common. Just seeking Him isn’t enough, we must seek Him first over every other distraction. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”
#4 – No Quitting: Due to our human nature and limited patience, often times games of hide and seek end not because the seeker found someone but simply because he couldn’t find anyone and decided to give up. However, within our Christian walk, Jesus isn’t going to reveal Himself just because we call out “Olly Olly Oxen Free”. Instead, He will reveal Himself to those who don’t quit. In Luke 11:9, Jesus proclaims, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
In our lives, we should take joy in being a seeker of God. If we keep our eyes on Him, seek Him first, and don’t give up, we are sure to find the Lord. In the game of hide and seek, the greatest reward is finding someone after a long search, and the reward is so much greater when we find the Lord.