There’s nothing like playing Hide-and-Seek with young children. They just don’t get it. When they are supposed to cover their eyes and count, the temptation to look overwhelms them.
When it is their turn to hide, things get even more interesting. Young children tend to think that if they cannot see, they cannot be seen. A one-year-old child will hide by simply covering her eyes. Three-year-olds will hide under a dining room chair. It is only when they reach four or five that they really begin to make themselves hidden. Of course, the giggles still give them away.
As we grow up, we become much better at hiding. We imagine, in fact, that the things we do while alone, or think in our heads, or feel deeply in our hearts are known by no one but ourselves. We let ourselves forget that nothing escapes the notice of God. David writes:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Psalm 139:1-3, ESV
Nothing is hidden from God. To the heart that thinks its darkest thoughts have been hidden, this fact is distressing. Nothing has been private. Nothing has been secret. We have gotten away with nothing.
God knows it all. He approaches us like an adult who finds the toddler under the legs of the chair, eyes covered. No amount of hiding will keep us from Him. In the same psalm, David says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7, ESV)
Only three reactions are possible in the face of a God who knows it all… Denial… We can pretend that a relentless gaze is not looking in our direction. We can try to forget that our hiding does no good.
Many people live this way, but as the Hebrew writer tells us, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13, ESV)
Despair… When we face the fact that God sees it all, no human heart can stand the scrutiny. Romans tells us that all of us are under sin (Romans 3:9). Unlike those in denial, the despairing heart accepts that sin is exposed, but has no hope for anything beyond condemnation.
Confession… Scrutiny and failure are not the end of the story for those who come to know Christ. We are given a chance to admit our sins – bring them into the light – and have them forgiven in Christ (I John 1:9). Confession doesn’t tell God something He doesn’t already know (see above paragraphs). It is an admission (rather than a denial) and a plea for hope (rather than despair).
When we realize nothing is hidden, we can stop hiding. He loves us in spite of our sin (Romans 5:8) but He calls us to face the truth of it and come out of the shadows.