(Genesis 3:9-13) “So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, ‘Where are you?’ ‘I heard your voice in the garden,’ the man answered, ‘and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you.’
‘Who told you that you are naked?’ God asked. ‘Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?’ The man answered, ‘The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.’ Then the LORD God asked the woman, ‘What did you do?’ ‘The Shining One misled me,’ the woman answered, ‘so I ate.’”
(Genesis 4:8-9) “Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the wilderness.’ When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Later, the LORD asked Cain, ‘Where’s your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he answered. ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’“
When God asked Adam, “Where are you?” it wasn’t that God did not know where Adam was, but He wanted Adam to admit in which spiritual and emotional state he was at that moment. Adam had just broken God’s one rule, and now he was afraid, ashamed, and scared to face God. Have you ever felt this way? God is not angry when we sin, but when we don’t admit our fault and thus think that we have no need to repent.
The first thing Adam did was to hide, and then when He realized that he could not hide from God, he blamed Eve. Actually, Adam was indirectly blaming God for having made Eve, who encouraged him to break God’s rules. And when Eve was questioned, she blamed the devil. This is exactly how we act whenever we ignore the consequences of our rebellion and mistakes. We blame everyone else and God, but we continue to hide behind whatever it takes in order not to admit our guilt.
When Cain killed his brother Abel, God asked Cain if he knew where his brother was. God already knew what had happened, but He wanted to give Cain an opportunity to confess and face his sin. However, Cain preferred to ignore God’s invitation and back-answered God. God had to eventually banish Cain, just like He did with Adam and Eve.
In this modern age where being transparent and honest is not only dangerous but laughed upon, we have gotten used to hiding behind fake smiles and fake answers. But no matter how much we fake on social media, with our family and friends, we cannot fake it with God. He sees your shame, your regret, and your pain. But instead of condemning you, He wants to forgive you and clothe you with righteousness through Jesus Christ.
The worst thing about being fake is that you can end up believing your own lies and that you don’t need God in your life, that you don’t need to change, that you are a good person, and that God has to accept you because of your good actions.
The sooner you stop hiding, the sooner God can heal your emotions, cut out the sin that is destroying you and make you eligible to enter heaven.
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Prayers
• Heavenly Father, You are My horn, You have exalted me like a wild ox. He who sets me on high places. The Lord who sustains me.
• Thank You Father that there is no place to hide from Your love and willingness to forgive us.
• Thank You that no matter how dark our sins, you will wash us clean.
• Thank You that we always get a chance to admit our faults and get restored back to You through Jesus.
• Forgive us for hiding our faults and blaming others for our choices.
• Forgive us for not willing to admit that we have drifted away from Your love.
• Give us the courage to face our current situation and to return back to You.
• We declare that we are loved and accepted by You.
• We ask for the boldness to make the changes in our lives needed to walk honestly with everyone.
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• We ask in Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen