Where Are You?

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

Can you imagine living in a place where God walks every day? How incredible would it be to witness His presence; feel His presence; be in His presence? This was the privileged reality of Adam and Eve. ‘Was’ the reality, until the day that their place of serenity became a place of deception, blame and fear.

The LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

The joy that was once felt in God’s presence had now turned to fear as Adam and Eve experienced shame for the first time. This was a foreign emotion; one that should never have been felt. Yet, here they were in this strange place and it did not feel good, so they hid.

Have you ever hidden from God? Are you hiding from Him now? We find ourselves in different places throughout our life – some pleasant, some not so much. It could be a place called success or contentment or decision or indifference. It might be a place called worry or confusion or grief or despair. Like Adam, the place that we are in can cause us to want to avoid the presence of God. Maybe because we are dealing with something and we are not ready to discuss it with God. Or maybe we feel afraid and just can’t face our vulnerability being exposed in the light of God’s presence, so, we stay away.

Still, God asks, “Where are you?” He asks because he wants to spend time with us; He asks because He wants to be in our company. Whichever place we find ourselves in, God wants to be in that place alongside us.

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Isaiah 1:18

God wants to be with us and He wants to talk with us, but He never pressures us. He wants us to come willingly and talk it over, or simply come and be still. Either way, being in the presence of the Lord is the best place for us to be.

Don’t isolate yourself from the presence of God. Let it surround you, comfort you, strengthen and keep you.