Hide-And-Seek-Chase
Deuteronomy 4:29
“But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart.”
We gathered at my parents’ house for dinner last night to celebrate the gender reveal of our precious baby due in July, and my nephew, Tucker, asked me to play hide-and-seek chase with him as he always does. He’s such a sweet-tempered kid, just as his mother was when she was her age, and full of energy, and I love chasing him around the house as he growls like a t-rex dinosaur (his favorite animal). Except that his version of hide-and-seek consists of standing out in the open about twenty yards from where I’ve just counted and calling out “Uncle Seth, here I am!”, or just roaring and running around in circles giddily till I tag him. Then, when it’s my turn to hide, I’ll hear him from my hiding spot finish counting, look around for about twenty seconds or less, and then start calling out in exacerbation, “Uncle Seth, where are you?!” I can hear the sobs beginning to form in the words so I quickly run out and let him chase me before things take an ugly turn.
That’s the way I tend to seek God unfortunately. My desire to see Him is there, no doubt; it even turns into anguish if I’ve called out for some time without hearing anything; but though my heart is fully invested in the finding, it isn’t so invested in the seeking. Perhaps you’re like me, friend. Maybe you tend to focus too much on the promise God gives us in Deuteronomy 4:29—“You will find me!”—but neglect the condition that accompanies it—“when you seek me with all your heart.” The problem is that our hearts represent our true, inner selves, but they are only fully visible to God. We can’t measure them through a mirror or a thermometer or a heart monitor. We can’t drive to Walgreens and stock up on at-home heart condition tests. Which is why faith’s yearning provides a double reward. When we seek after God with all we are, we see Him, and we see ourselves.
Today, let’s not stand in place like a child crying out for God to show Himself. Instead, let’s run after Him like men after His heart, knowing that the reward of the pursuit is worth the expenditure.