Hiding From God

"When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees."

Genesis 3:8

After the man and woman sin, their first instinct is to hide. They hide from each other and even from themselves (Gen 3:7). Then, as God comes to walk with them in the garden, they try to hide from him.

Here we see a picture of ourselves. We too attempt to hide from God. When sin has overtaken us, we try to put God out of our minds, or we stay away from gatherings of his people, or we pretend as if he really doesn't care about our actions. What we desperately need when we sin is not to hide from God, but to come before him openly, to confess our sin freely, knowing that through Christ we can experience God's merciful forgiveness.

Are you hiding from God right now? Is there anything you need to confess to the Lord so that you might enjoy his forgiveness?

PRAYER: Holy Lord, we rightly sense that our sin dishonors you and makes a breach in our relationship with you. So we try to hide ourselves from your gaze, as if this were even possible. Help us, gracious Father, to come before you as we are, to lay ourselves before you honestly. Give us the grace to confess our sins to you so that we might experience your forgiveness. Thank you for Jesus Christ, in whom we receive your mercy and grace. Amen.