Can We Hide from God?

This is a summary of what I shared with my high school bible class today, after we read through Psalm 139 and looked at what it said about God. If you have time, stop and read it yourself (below) and mentally list or write out what this Psalm says about God before you read the rest!

So we started out talking about how God is our Creator (Acts 17, Genesis 1). And then talked about sin and how it entered the world (Genesis 3, Romans 3). Why look at Psalm 139? How does that fit?

Well, we see in Psalm 139 that God is everywhere, from the heavens to Sheol (v. 8), from east to west (v. 9), inside our bodies (v. 13), and even in our heads! (v. 2). We cannot hide in the darkness (v.12), there is no secret place where he cannot go (v. 15), and he even knows our words before we say them (and knows more about why we said them than we do! - v. 4). He knows everything about what we think, say, and do!

This is both a comfort and a terrifying thought. Comforting when we need his help and terrifying when we have done wrong; sinned; broken one of his commands. What is a typical response we can have to our sin? Have you ever done something wrong and then tried to hide it? Or maybe you tried to hide yourself, or run away. That's what Adam and Eve did in the garden. After they broke God's command, here is what happpened:

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

It's interesting because that word for presence is literally "face" - very intimate! And it is the same Hebrew word that David uses in Psalm 139:7:
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?

Once again, presence is literally translated "face". And David recognizes that he can not flee from God's face. I wonder if he was thinking about Adam and Eve when he wrote that line?

So, how did hiding work out for Adam and Eve? It didn't help them one bit! They still had to suffer the consequences of their actions. What about you? Did hiding things from your parents or others ever work out well for you? I know it didn't work well for me!

The truth of God's word says:
Numbers 32:23  "...be sure your sin will find you out."

We cannot hide from God and he knows everything about us, all of our sin, and that is such a good thing! It is his grace and mercy. Because, unless we come to him and admit our sin and ask him to forgive us, we cannot be forgiven. And if we do not admit our sinfulness to him in this life, we will experience his judgment in the next. But God's word promises us that:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1)

So, if you have a sin that you are hiding from God, now is the time to confess it to him and restore or start a right relationship with him. And all of us sin every day. So we need to be confessing our sins daily and praying this prayer from Psalm 139:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down     and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue,     behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before,     and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;     it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?     Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!     If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning     and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,     and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you;     the night is bright as the day,     for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts;     you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a] Wonderful are your works;     my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,     intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,     the days that were formed for me,     when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!     How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.     I awake, and I am still with you. 19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!     O men of blood, depart from me! 20 They speak against you with malicious intent;     your enemies take your name in vain.[b] 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?     And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred;     I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!     Try me and know my thoughts![c] 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,     and lead me in the way everlasting!

By Faith

I was so encouraged while singing "By Faith" this morning (lyrics to follow). The first verse states, "By faith we see the hand of God in the light of creation's grand design,". At prayer meeting last week, we read Ps 19, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." (verse 1)

The verse of the song goes on, "in the lives of those who prove His faithfulness, who walk by faith and not by sight." I thought about my friend sitting in front of me. She experienced a house fire and has had issue after issue after issue getting the insurance companies and workers and contractors to just do what they are supposed to do. And through it all, she has continued to trust God and be a witness for Him, along with loving her husband, kids, and parents.

Verse 2 talks about our fathers "roaming the earth, with the power of His promise in their hearts..." They did not rule the earth with power, they roamed the earth, but always had the powerful promises of God Almighty!

I praised God that "the prophets saw a day when the longed-for Messiah would appear, with the power to break the chains of sin and death..."  This was accentuated for me because we have been studying Luke this year and seeing Jesus drive out demons and heal all the sick again and again and again. There was no demon or group of demons too strong to drive out, nor any sickness or condition beyond His power!

And now we, as the church, are "called to go in the power of the Spirit to the lost, to deliver captives and to preach good news in every corner of the earth." Jesus stood up and read this in the synagogue:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Now we too can "proclaim good news to the poor". Because of Christ, captives can be set free, "the power of the gospel shall prevail"!

“By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation’s grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God’s own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight ”

— WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH & KRISTYN GETTY & STUART TOWNEND

Thirsting for God

I was looking at Psalm 42 while preparing for a devotion:

"As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?”

We talked about the difference between saying you hunger after God and “My soul thirsts for God”. When you are hungry it can be intense and distracting, but usually you can go on with what you are doing. The hungry feeling goes away and comes back more intense the next time. But if you are thirsty, it is very distracting and hard to think about anything else until you quench that thirst. Do we thirst for God like that?

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.    (see context below)

I love how honest the Psalmist is with God! Honesty is so important in any relationship if you want to be close, but in no relationship is it more important than in our relationship with God. What keeps us from being completely honest with God? Do we not want to take the time? Are we afraid God won't like what we have to say? If we are honest with God will it force us to be honest with ourselves – and we don't really want to go there? Whatever the obstacle – remove it and start being honest with the Sovereign God of the universe who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to die so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life (see John 3:16).

I also love how the Psalmist speaks truth to himself “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Where does this come from? God's word is truth and we need to be reading it every day. And when we are strugging, we can go to his word and find what we need. But what if we don't have a Bible or our phone handy? How much better to hide his word in our hearts, so that when the time comes the Holy Spirit can bring it to the forefront of our minds. Memorize God's word and be strategic about it. We all have stuggle areas. Why not memorize something that speaks to the struggle you have? And if you need suggestions, ask a trusted friend or an older brother or sister in Christ.

42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.        ESV

I Am a Slave

I looked up a resource for reflecting on my identity in Christ and came across this: My Identity in Christ. I spent some time in 1 Corinthians 6 and focused on these verses (see context below):

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

In thinking about my identity in Christ, I thought it was really important to see that I am not my own, I have been bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). It reminded me of Pastor Greene's sermon a couple of weeks ago when he was talking about slaves and masters. He pointed out that God is our Master and we are His slaves, not in the African American slave trade sense, but in the Old Testament Hebrew slave system sense (it would take a lot to fully explain that and I'm not going to do that here). The master would provide for his slaves and they would be part of his household, but the slave would be obligated to obey his master always, any time. I thought of how this is different from a job. One goes to work and listens to their boss, but when they come home, their time is their own. I realized that this is often how I look at my obligation to God. I do the things I think God wants me to do and then it is my time to do what I want to do. Well, if God is really my Master, then I must obey Him 24/7. I realized the thought of this did not make me happy! I did not think I would like doing what God wants me to do all the time. I want time to do what I think is fun. How sad that I am believing a lie that I would not have joy obeying my heavenly Father. I need my mind to be transformed! I believe. Help my unbelief!

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. From 1 Corinthians 6 ESV

Beloved? More Questions Than Answers

“and a voice came from heaven, “'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'” Luke 3:22b

I read this and tears came to my eyes. “Do you really feel this way about me, God? Am I your beloved? Are you pleased with me?”

I know this is God the Father talking to Jesus and he wasn't talking to me. But there are plenty of passages that speak of God's love for us:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” from John 3

and

8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” from Romans 5

But that is speaking of the masses. Somehow I don't feel like God loves me, Kimberly Ann Kuhr White, when I read those verses. And I know there is a disconnect. Sure, if someone were to ask me if God loves me I would say yes. I know it in my head. But it has not fully penetrated my heart and mind. And that is seen in my actions as I continue to seek love and approval from other people rather than have my relational needs met fully in Him.

There are other verses I go to that seem more personal to me:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11

I love this picture of a tender shepherd's love.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1John 3:1

I love that in 1John 2 (and throughout the book) John calls them, “Beloved” and “My little children”, and “My dear children”. I know this is John addressing them, but somehow it speaks of the Father's love to me.

I started recounting all the ways that God has shown love to me by His provision for me: giving me Geoff as a husband; giving me 11 beautiful children; surprise packages left on our doorstep that are still a mystery to us; sending Emily Bentz and then Deb Warning to our house just in time for Mary Ann to go to the hospital; providing food, schooling, and care for our other children while Mary Ann was in the hospital for 21 days; leading our church family to put a second story addition on our house for us. The list goes on and on. And while I do feel loved by these things and am amazed that God has provided such, there is still a disconnect. What is the problem? It does not make any sense that I can not see God's love for me in these things and in the truth of his word. God I believe. Help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24)