What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately
When I was a girl, we had a fluffy poodle named Cannoli. If you've ever seen that Italian pastry, you can imagine what she looked like! She was a puffy, fluffy ball of white fur! She was adorable, but she didn't look like a traditional poodle. So, one day, my mom decided to restore dignity to her breed and groom her to look like the refined gal she was meant to be. When Mom arrived home after Cannoli's shaving, styling and pampering, she called us kids to see how pretty Cannoli looked. The door opened, we squealed and the dog darted past us and buried her head under the couch! Her well-groomed behind and her cotton ball tail shivered as they stuck out! We prodded and pled, but she wouldn't pull her head out. "She's hiding," Mom explained. "She's embarrassed and she thinks because she can't see you, you can't see her!" Poor puppy, she liked her fur coat, not her sleek shave! Cannoli's logic makes me laugh until I think about how similar mine is to hers. If I can't see God, I wonder if He can see me. Hmmm.... Sometimes we feel God isn't there - that He is hiding or can't see us.
The Psalmist prayed, "Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior." (Psalm 27:9-10)
The Psalmist asked God not to hide, turn, reject or forsake him. None of us want to have that experience with God, either. We want His presence with us and we want to know He is not hiding.
Think of Eden...who acted that way? God...or Adam and Eve? Sometimes when we feel God is hiding, it is really us who have hidden our face from His. And, because we can't see Him or experience His presence, we feel He can't or won't see us either. Shame can make God feel absent because we are like Adam and Eve...hiding.
Genesis 3:7 describes the awful sting of shame we all feel. After Adam and Eve bit the fruit, their eyes were opened and they saw their own shame. The result? They hid from God (verse 8). As God walked in the Garden, they were shivering behind a bush! Yet, God was not hiding...they were. He called to them and they answered. They hid because of their shame, but God responded by making garments for them and covering them (verse 21).
There is nowhere we can go from God's Spirit. And there is nowhere we can flee from God's presence. So, why hide? (Psalm 139:7)
My sweet puppy hid. She couldn't see us, so she thought we couldn't see her. She hid, but I saw her. She couldn't see me, but I was there begging her to come out. Sin and shame often make us want to hide or make God feel hidden or separate from us. But, come out, sweet sister. He sees you. He is with you.
The Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Romans 10:11)
Hide and Seek
When I was a girl, we had a fluffy poodle named Cannoli. If you've ever seen that Italian pastry, you can imagine what she looked like! She was a puffy, fluffy ball of white fur! She was adorable, but she didn't look like a traditional poodle. So, one day, my mom decided to restore dignity to her breed and groom her to look like the refined gal she was meant to be. When Mom arrived home after Cannoli's shaving, styling and pampering, she called us kids to see how pretty Cannoli looked. The door opened, we squealed and the dog darted past us and buried her head under the couch! Her well-groomed behind and her cotton ball tail shivered as they stuck out! We prodded and pled, but she wouldn't pull her head out. "She's hiding," Mom explained. "She's embarrassed and she thinks because she can't see you, you can't see her!" Poor puppy, she liked her fur coat, not her sleek shave! Cannoli's logic makes me laugh until I think about how similar mine is to hers. If I can't see God, I wonder if He can see me. Hmmm.... Sometimes we feel God isn't there - that He is hiding or can't see us.
The Psalmist prayed, "Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior." (Psalm 27:9-10)
The Psalmist asked God not to hide, turn, reject or forsake him. None of us want to have that experience with God, either. We want His presence with us and we want to know He is not hiding.
Think of Eden...who acted that way? God...or Adam and Eve? Sometimes when we feel God is hiding, it is really us who have hidden our face from His. And, because we can't see Him or experience His presence, we feel He can't or won't see us either. Shame can make God feel absent because we are like Adam and Eve...hiding.
Genesis 3:7 describes the awful sting of shame we all feel. After Adam and Eve bit the fruit, their eyes were opened and they saw their own shame. The result? They hid from God (verse 8). As God walked in the Garden, they were shivering behind a bush! Yet, God was not hiding...they were. He called to them and they answered. They hid because of their shame, but God responded by making garments for them and covering them (verse 21).
There is nowhere we can go from God's Spirit. And there is nowhere we can flee from God's presence. So, why hide? (Psalm 139:7)
My sweet puppy hid. She couldn't see us, so she thought we couldn't see her. She hid, but I saw her. She couldn't see me, but I was there begging her to come out. Sin and shame often make us want to hide or make God feel hidden or separate from us. But, come out, sweet sister. He sees you. He is with you.
The Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Romans 10:11)
Well, that's what's been percolating in me lately.
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