Hiding To Sin
by Lindsey Hanekom
Our daughter Zoe, who is not quite two years old, has developed an endearing habit, which I must say, I find quite amusing. I now know when she says, “Bye” with a particularly cute smile on her face and a look of anticipation, I know she is going to go into another room and get up to something naughty! Whilst we can all have a little chuckle at Zoe, her behaviour is probably something we are all very guilty of.
So very often, when we fall into sin, we know we’re about to do something wrong. We know that God wouldn’t be happy with us doing it, but we try to move away from God, pretend that all’s well with the world and go ahead anyway. It’s almost as if we think God will leave the room when we begin to sin, turn His back, and pretend He doesn’t know it’s happening.
The reality is God knows all too well when we’re about to sin. Just as Zoe thinks by going into a different room she can get away with it, we think we can hide from God in our sin.
This verse clearly states the opposite. We can’t hide from God, even in the darkness of our sin. We may want to hide from God at these times, but the reality is He’s there and He continues to love us just the same.
Zoe has certainly learned there’s often a price to pay for wrong behaviour, and knows all too well that it always ends up in having to face us and having to apologise. With her speech very limited, we soon instituted the rule that to say sorry means you give a hug to the person you upset. Whilst this is a simple mechanism to get around the no talking issue, it’s also a powerful reminder to her that, even though she was naughty and made Mummy sad, she’s still loved, and love is what makes it all feel better and go away. Once the hug is over, so is the issue... never to be dragged up again.
God’s response to our sin is no different. He doesn’t sit in a distant place waiting for you to come grovelling, loaded down with guilt and shame, ready to do whatever it takes to make things better. He simply meets you there and then, in the darkness, with nothing but pure love that can truly make it all better, and it doesn’t cost a thing... well, apart from a little bit of humility.
Prayer: Father God, I know I’m sinful, and I know I’ve tried to hide my sin from you. Meet me in those dark places to bring light, love and healing. Amen.
Lindsey Hanekom Lindsey has worked at all of our UK centres over the years and has settled at Ellel Scotland with her husband, Johann and their two young children, Kyle and Zoe. As part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Scotland, Lindsey has a heart for the deeply broken as she oversees the prayer ministry and is an established and passionate teacher with Ellel. In her spare time, Lindsey enjoys the natural world, particularly the ocean, and is trained as a specialist medic to assist stranded and injured marine mammals.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
