The seven of us had just arrived home from a trip to Houston. Of course, we all had plenty of stuff to unpack and put away. I headed to my bedroom to take care of the things in my suitcase, but the door was, strangely, locked.
So I picked the lock with a toothpick we keep wedged into the upper doorjamb for that very purpose, only to find Timmy nestled into our mound of pillows, headfirst.
‘Timmy?” I asked. ‘Why are you hiding in my pillows?”
Timmy shot me a sideways glance. “Because I thought you were Daddy.”
“Why were you hiding from Daddy?”
“Because he would want me to unpack,” Timmy said.
It’s not like Timmy was well-hidden. But at least he had the strategy right: if you don’t want someone to find you, you hide.
It’s the same strategy Adam and Eve used when they wanted to hide from God, as well as the same strategy that we, their descendants, have been using ever since. When we don’t want to take the chance of coming face to face with God, we hide from Him.
Maybe we hide because we’ve done something wrong and don’t want to get in trouble. We think if we can avoid thinking about God, much less actually talking to Him, then we can avoid whatever consequences might be coming.
Maybe it’s because we don’t want to feel guilty about something we’ve done. If we can ignore God steadfastly enough, we won’t have to feel the burden of guilt which is justly ours.
Those two reasons for hiding are pretty common. But the third reason is perhaps the most common of all: We hide because we don’t want to have to come to terms with God’s authority over us and our lives. We want to do what we want to do, and if we encounter God, we might have to let Him be in charge. So we do our best not to encounter Him.
No matter which one of these fits our circumstances, it’s not the ultimate reason we attempt to hide from God. When it comes right down to it, we hide because we’re afraid.
We’re afraid of God.
Not that we probably realize it. We probably think we’re just afraid of the consequences of our actions, afraid of our emotions, or afraid of losing control.
But ultimately, we’re afraid of Him.
If we truly believed that when God allows us to face consequences, it’s for our good, we wouldn’t be afraid to face Him when we’ve done something wrong.
If we truly believed that God would walk with us through any emotion we face and bring us out stronger on the other side, we wouldn’t be afraid to face our guilt.
If we truly believed that with God in control, our lives would be much better, we wouldn’t be afraid to let Him make the decisions.
It all comes down to what we believe about God.
What does your fear level say that you believe about Him?
1 John 4:18—There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (NIV)