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.

Devotion based on Genesis 3:8

Up to this moment, Adam and Eve had enjoyed a perfect bond of trust and love with their Creator-God. This bond had been at the center of everything. Their lives had been wondrous beyond description.

But, tempted by Satan, Adam and Eve chose to trust their will for their lives instead of God’s will for their lives. In doing so, they severed their relationship with their Lord. As a result, the toxic waste of sin rushed in to take its place.

The results were immediate. When the Lord approached them, there was now, within Adam and Eve, a dark impulse to do what they had never done before. They hid. And fallen humanity has been trying to hide from God ever since.

By nature, you and I also have that dark impulse to hide from God. Perhaps I hide behind busyness, filling my mind with so many deadlines and activities that I think I’m keeping God at a comfortable distance. Perhaps I hide behind news headlines and current events, filling my mind with so many national and international issues that I never get around to my relationship with God. Perhaps I hide behind work, entertainment, recreation, or an all-consuming hobby—anything that might spare me from confronting the reality of my sinful failures before a holy God.

Hiding, however, is not the answer. Jesus is. The Son of God became one of us. On our behalf, he lived a life of perfect trust in his heavenly Father’s will. In our place, he suffered and died for our every sin—including our every act of distrust, our every act of avoidance, our every act of hiding. Then he rose from death.

Now, through faith in Christ, you and I stand forgiven, cleansed, and blanketed in the holiness of God’s Son. And because we are, you and I don’t have to hide anymore. Ever.

Prayer: