Hiding

How long has it been since you have played Hide and Seek? I was watching a show on TV this week where the child told his mother to count and that he was going to hide. One, two, three, four, five, six, and then the mother was distracted and completely forgot about her preschooler hiding in another room. Finally, the boy cried out to his mother, and she replied by saying, “Twenty. Ready or not, here I come!” With 16 grandchildren I have played more than my share of this 2,000-year-old children’s game.  

Beman was a young Ivoirian Muslim friend when we lived in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He was a handsome dude, and his smile, kind voice and affability easily won new friends.

We had much time together in Adjame’ on the outskirts of Abidjan where I was regularly meeting with a group of young men to study the Bible. Beman was smart, and he asked good questions.

He was my favorite participant, but one day I was totally discouraged with something that he shared with me. We were talking about the omniscience of God and how we cannot hide from God. Beman shared with the group that he could successfully hide from God. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him to elaborate.

He said that during the fast of Ramadan he would cover himself with a blanket so that God could not see, and he would eat and drink during the daytime fast.  Beman thought he was hiding from God.

It is easy for us westerners to laugh at this simple attempt to hide from God, but the fact is that most people’s understanding of omniscience is either elementary or non-existent. When I have shared this story of Beman with others, many have been amused at the simple mind of this West African, but if we are honest with ourselves, all of us at some time have been guilty of trying to hide from God.

Genesis 3:8 tells us that Adam and Eve hid from God. When we are disobedient to God, our sinful instinct is to run away and hide from Him. Rather than running away from God, we should be running to God for restoration and help.

“Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” Jeremiah 23:24.