The game of hide-and-seek is beloved by children of all ages. The cat-and-mouse interchange makes for great fun and the better hiders can make the game last for hours on end. Of course, if you play the game with young children the game is often quite different. First of all, they aren’t the most adept hiders so it is often easy to spot them with a quick glance around the area of play. Secondly, if you take too long to announce that you have found them, they will often reveal their hiding place with a loud “Here I am!” – excitedly jumping from their supposedly obscure position.
In Scripture we see a similar situation play out in the lives of men and women that God has called. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve try to hide from God due to the shame of their sin (Gen. 3:8) However, just like playing hide-and-see with a toddler, trying to conceal oneself from God is an exercise in futility. You may think that the place you have selected cloaks you from detection, but He knows where you are even without looking.
Conversely, we also see individuals in the Bible who when called by God, quickly state “Here I am.” Abraham did so in Genesis 22:1; Moses did so as well in Exodus 3:4. Isaiah and Samuel uttered the same words when they were beckoned, and other examples of those with the same attitude abound. They were quick to state where they were because they were eager to hear from their Heavenly Father. Out of love for Him, they answered when He called.
The big difference between Adam and Eve and the lives of the individuals who were quick to respond to God is that Adam and Eve were ashamed to be seen by their Maker. They had blatantly disobeyed Him and a result both their physical and spiritual nakedness was revealed. The other individuals, while certainly not perfect, were living their lives in such a way that when they were called by God they were eager to be found. They were not mired in a life of unrepentant sin; instead their relationship with God was such that when He called their response wasn’t to hide, but to listen.
We should desire that our response would be similar. Our goal should be to walk so closely with Christ that when He calls, we are eager to hear what He desires for us and are quick to obey His words. If our inclination is to hide, if we desire to be cloaked in obscurity rather than used for His purposes, them we need to examine our lives and see if their is unrepentant sin that we need to confess and seek His forgiveness. We should be eager to hear from our Lord and when we do, we should be equally as eager to do what He says. Our response shouldn’t be to hide; our response should be to say “Here!”
