God Does Not Hide

 On a Sunday not so far in the past, I knelt at the altar, calling to Jesus.  Clearly, I heard him say,   “I am here.”

I wept as I reached for his hand.  His presence was palpable. Deep within my heart and mind, I knew Jesus had always been present, whether I was dancing in the light or suffering in the darkest places. 

“ When you seek the Lord, your God, from there you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.”  (Deuteronomy 4:29, NAS).  The fidelity of the Lord in our presence is steady.  He does not hide from those who seek Him.   

Before Christ, a significant prophet was Isaiah, who declared, “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).  Similar words echo in the testimony of Jesus about the Father, “Seek, and you will find.  Ask, and you will be given. Knock, and the door will be open.” (Matthew 7:7) 

God does not play hide and seek.  Even when we doubt He is with us, God says, “Seek my face.”    At a time when I was convinced I was alone and undoubtedly unworthy of fellowship with God, I was given a vision.   Jesus stood before me with one hand on his heart and the other hand outstretched.   Like King David, I heard the Lord say, “Come.”   

“Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”  Psalms 27:8

 Jesus stands nearby always. Like David, we may think God has turned his face from us when surrounded by trouble.  Yet King David knew that even if his mother and father abandoned him, God would not leave him on his own.  The Lord, his light and the strength of his life, would always care for him. 

 I have learned that when the face of Jesus is not in my range of vision, He hasn’t moved at all.  However, I have turned my body away from Him onto my cares and worries of this life. I hear his voice saying, “Come,” before I even turn around.  His ear is leaning down towards me so that I may ask. His hand welcomes me as I seek.  His sacred heart of love opens when I move close enough to be in his embrace.  

The Lord is generous, merciful and loving.  I seek and find the Light rising in my darkness.  I contemplate along with David, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the presence of the LORD all the days of my life.” Pslams 27:4.