HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18; Colossians 1:1-17; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 24:21-22

“Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’ Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me…. ‘My wayward children,’ says the Lord, ‘come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.’ ‘Yes, we’re coming,’ the people reply, ‘for you are the Lord our God.’”

“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

“Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them. Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.”

It can be exceptionally difficult to find or see God in this world. But He is here. The heavens declare His glory. He has touched us each in a uniquely personal way. He calls to us and commissions us to accomplish His purpose. He answers prayers and blesses us. Yet still, we do not know Him as He longs to be known. Lord. Savior. Father. Friend. Guide. No one can know all there is to know about the great I AM. We can, however, know Him. We begin by conducting ourselves and acting as if we know He is present with us. Soon, we realize He’s been there all along, hidden in plain sight. We are simply unable to see Christ until we first experience the Spirit as a matter of blind faith. Once we take that first step of unadulterated trust, it becomes easier to depend on Him and appreciate His presence in our lives. We have to first be caught before we know we cannot fall.

In a similar vein, when we insist the Lord first show us where His plans will lead before we sign on, we really are insisting that God stop being God. We want the Spirit to surrender to us, to waive His sovereignty, to show us His cards. But that is not how He works. Jesus only accepts recruits willing to submit to His sovereignty before they know where it will lead them. Yahweh says, “Follow me.” Only after we agree does He tell us where we are to go. Consequently, our inability to discern God’s real presence usually has more to do with our own stubbornness than His inscrutability. We refuse to submit and follow Him in simple, unconditional faith.

Thus, it seems clear that one reason behind our inability to appreciate God’s presence is because a part of us is always fighting against Him. The world says Christians can’t have fun. Some of us don’t dance. None of us are supposed to fornicate, get drunk or covet. From the outside, Christianity may, in fact, seem restrictive rather than freeing. Our secular side certainly usually sees it that way.  It’s why we rebel. But the point is, Christians actually are the only ones truly free to decide who they will follow and how – and how diligently – they will do it. This is because they are the only ones over whom sin does not maintain a stranglehold and so limit available options. Only Christians are free to voluntarily surrender themselves back to God. Unrepentant sinners just can’t do this; it is they who live in real bondage. Sin stands in the way and prevents their reunion with their Creator. It kills their desire to be united with Him. The Holy Spirit frees us from the power of sin and death. This alone allows people to make the ultimate decision of free will: whether or not to give ourselves back to the Creator.

It is not until we make a commitment to follow the Lord that He will “repossess” us, and we will be able to see Him as He is. We do not presently see Him as clearly as we might because we have not yet submitted to His will as fully as we might. Let’s not waste a lot of time and breath wondering if Christ is with us. Let us instead be consumed by the question of whether we are with Him. As we begin to follow the right Guide more completely, our eyesight will improve considerably. God very much wants us to see Him, but He is not likely to force Himself on unwilling souls who do not seek Him first.