Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Monday, October 16, 2017

"Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"¹

Tim Timmons and Stephen Arteburn in their book, Hooked on Life, tell about a middle-aged woman who made her way into an apartment building to the twelfth floor. As she arrived at her intended destination, she rang the doorbell impatiently. The door opened mysteriously, and she was welcomed by the smell of incense and smoke. She entered and was greeted by a slightly dressed young girl who announced her presence with the sounding of a huge gong. With this the young girl said, "Do you wish to see the all-knowing, all-powerful, the wonderful one, Maharishi Narru?"

"Yeah," the woman said. "Tell Sheldon his mother is here!"

We laugh at such folly in others, while at the same time, most of us to some degree hide behind some kind of phony facade. It may not be as absurd as what we have just read about, but when it comes to trying to hide from God, that's impossible. God knows all. He sees all. He knows who I am . . . where I am . . . why I am here . . . where I am going . . . what I am doing . . . and what I am not doing. No matter how I try, I cannot hide from God! No way. Period!

As David wrote in the Psalms, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."²

The best thing is to tell God who you are, where you are, what you want, what you don't want, what you are afraid of, what you don't want to give up, etc., etc. Only when we get honest with ourselves and real with God, can he (or anyone else) help us.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please open my eyes so I can see any way in which I may be deceiving myself, or running from your perfect plan and will for my life. Help me to be honest with myself and honest with youâ€"knowing that the best thing in the world for me is the purpose you have for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Jeremiah 23:24 (NIV).
2. Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV).

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