Have you ever thought if you don’t seek God He won’t seek you? Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t want to follow God’s plan and think you may be able to fly under the radar? It is kind of like when my kids were little, if I caught them doing something they shouldn’t they would close their eyes really tight thinking that if they can’t see me then surely I can’t see them. Whether they thought I could see them or not, I had been there with them the entire time. Closing their eyes never had an effect on me being present. This isn’t just something our children do as toddlers. We see it throughout scripture…

Adam and Eve tried to hide from the presence of God when they disobeyed Him by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:8) in the Garden of Eden. Jonah tried to run from the presence of God when he didn’t want to obey God when God told him to go the Nineveh (Jonah 1:3).  Jonah tried to hide in the hull of a boat and Adam and Eve tried to hide behind fig leaves. Where do we try to hide? Do we engulf ourselves in our work, our kids, our friends, or maybe even our volunteer work (maybe even in the church – ouch.)

We can’t hide from God. Just as he called Adam and Eve on their bluff (read Genesis chapter 3 for the nitty gritty on this one) and God have Jonah some time in the belly of a big fish to reassess his priorities (Jonah 2). God loves us enough to not leave us. His presence isn’t something to be feared, even when we have blown it.

Jesus tells us, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). What is the character like of the one who is with us always?

• Who God is Not… The fact that we can’t hide from God’s presence sometimes makes us think that there is some big mean god up in heaven like we see in a Percy Jackson novel; a god that is just waiting for us to mess up so he can destroy us. That is not who God is. He is a loving God that wants nothing more than to bring us back under his wings of protection.

• Who God is… God is a God of grace and mercy that when we turn back to Him, no matter to what extent we have tried to get away from His presence (be it a little or a lot), He is waiting for us and ready to throw a party to celebrate (Luke 15:11-32.) Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” His presence is never something to run from, but rather to run to.

Let’s open our eyes wide today to see the presence of the LORD.   We are so loved that God wants to be with us. He is always waiting and willing for us to turn towards Him and live in the undeserved gift of His presence.