“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. – Jeremiah 29:11-14
When I was a little boy, I played a lot of games, as all little children should do. I was blessed to have good friends who lived in my neighborhood and often we would spend day and night playing these games together. As I look back on those days, one game seems to stand out. That game is the game of “hide-and-seek”. I bet we played this game and its many variations at least a million times. We played this game in houses, backyards, neighborhoods, and school playgrounds. This was even a favorite game of my youth group during lock-ins at the church. I now enjoy watching my children play this game when they get together with their cousins or with our St. Luke’s youth.
Hide-and-seek is a great game! Usually, the games were over quickly. This was because most of my friends, and myself included, were not very creative when it came to finding good hiding places. We preferred to find a temporary shelter and then run as fast as we could, effectively turning the game into a race. However, on occasion, someone would find a good hiding place. They would conceal themselves so well that no matter how hard the person who was “it” looked, they could not find them. Eventually, everybody would join in the search looking for the wayward friend who could not be found. This would go on for what seemed like hours to many impatient children until the call would go out, “Olly-Olly-oxen-free” and the person who had stumped everyone with their hiding place would magically appear. I remember so well the frustration of not being able to find that person, even though it seemed we looked in the very place that they told us they were hiding. What a great game that was!
I thought about that game as I read again the beautiful words that appear in the prophet Jeremiah’s book, “You will seek me and find me”. This book records the amazing words of hope that have encouraged generations. These are the words that assure us that when we seek God, God will not hide from us. These are the words that remind us of the faithfulness of God. The people of Jeremiah’s day were living under a foreign King who had taken many into exile. They were a people who were once free in their own kingdom and now lived as slaves. Under this oppression, the people felt hopelessly trapped in bondage. However, they were not hopeless. God was with them. He would deliver them from the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar and restore them as a nation. History has proven God’s faithfulness. Israel was restored, and their chains of bondage were broken.
I am reminded that God is still faithful. God does not hide where we cannot find Him. God does not turn away from us. The promise that Jeremiah wrote so long ago is still true. When we seek God, we will find God. This promise is the foundation of our faith. God is with us and because of that, we can also find peace, joy, and hope for the future.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
