WHERE ARE YOU

Where Are You?

Genesis 3:8-9 (NIV) 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. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" 

Have you heard from God lately? Surely you can say you have heard God speak to you? Let me remind you, every time you open the Word of God, God speaks. The question is can you hear when he does speak? As long as we are in a righteous relationship with him, we can hear when he speaks to our hearts, to our spirit. It's only when we fall out of relationship with God as a result of sin that we are not able to hear clearly. It's during those times that the Lord, trying to get our attention, asks us, where are you?

Adam and Eve were born without sin and enjoyed an intimate knowing relationship with the Creator God, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3). Their relationship is described as one of spending time in each other's presence. So why did God have to ask the question of them, where are you? Because of sin. They chose to disobey God and do something that God had explicitly said they were not to do. This act of disobedience destroyed the relationship between themselves and God. Once the relationship was destroyed they could no longer fellowship with God.  The only word they would hear from God was now put in the form of a question, where are you? Their only response to this question was, we are naked and hiding from you. Adam and Eve learned a very valuable lesson. All people who are part of God’s family must learn this lesson; sin will always separate us from God and make us hide. It will also make us seek the darkness rather than the light of God's presence.

God knew where they were. He never loses sight of his children. He was not calling to them so he could find them. He called to them because he loved them and knew their need.  When he asked the question it was to get them to recognize their sin and understand their need. They knew that they had been disobedient to God and tried to hide. They could no longer fellowship with God as they had before. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there, done that!

Are you in fellowship with God? Have you heard from God lately? If you heard him speak from his Word it was with words of love and caring and concern for you. When God speaks from his Word he always gives direction and meaning to life. His Word brings joy to your heart and lifts your soul to the highest heights. His perfect love casts out all fear and you want be in his presence, now and in the future, and in the life to come.

If this is not the voice you hear when you hear from God, answer his question to you. Where are you __________? You fill in the blank if you need to. Tell Him exactly where you are and ask him to forgive you of your sin and restore you to that loving and wonderful relationship that only he can provide.

One of my favorite verses of Scripture is 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” After reading it, I think you can understand why it is one of my favorites.