Being Found

What a awesome picture is painted in 2 Chronicles 15 of our God Who loves to be found by His people!

v3 - "For a long time Israel didn't have the real God, nor did they have the help of priest or teacher or book. But when they were in trouble and got serious, and decided to seek God, the God of Israel, God let Himself be found."

v15 - "Anticipating the best, they had sought God - and He showed up, ready to be found."

The picture that comes to me is that of playing a game of hide-and-seek with your young child (or grandchild - which i hear is even better, according to an out-of-state shopper at WalMart who was stopped by my 4-year old to chat).

Playing hide-and-seek... finding a great hiding place from my child, but it's taking them a long time to find me. Meanwhile, behind the tree, I'm thinking of how big their smile will be when they find me ... of how joyful their giggly laugh will be when my hiding place is discovered...

And loving the sights and sounds of their little self that is a part of me, I don't want to wait any longer for them to find me.

And hearing them start to call out for me, i can't wait any longer.

So i let myself be found.


How much God loves His children to let Himself be found when they "get serious and seek" Him!

I am SO glad God doesn't hold grudges against my sins, but He holds me in His forgiving arms! I'm so glad He wants to be found! And it's not that He's been hiding Himself from me -- but that my sins, my ways have been blocking my view of Him!

What an awesome, merciful, loving God!


So. I want my response to be like that of the Israelites in v12: "Then they bound themselves in a covenant to seek God, the God of their fathers, wholeheartedly [with all their heart and with all their soul], not holding anything back."