Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

Day Fourteen: Hide and Seek

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:8-10 NIV) dam and Eve were God's kids. His most loved treasure. They truly were his favorites. But their disobedience brought insecurity in their connection to God. He had given them every good thing. He'd shown them kindness and relationship. He gave them purpose and love. God came calling Adam's name. The new emotions of shame and fear brought everything into question. As they heard the sound of God approaching, they wondered; "Is God good? Can we trust Him? Is He coming to hurt us? He said we were going to die. I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound good." They chose to hide from the creator of the universe. This would be comical if it wasn't so painful. An insecurity toward God produced insecurity in themselves. You can't hide from God and not also hide from others. It's not specified in the Genesis passage, but I believe this is the beginning of self-loathing. This is the root of feelings of worthlessness, a loss of confidence and the desire to isolate. It was the first identity crisis. One of the main ways we hide from others is to wear a mask. We formulate the person we want people to see because we're afraid people would reject who we really are. This becomes our own shield of self- protection.