The God Who Gives Himself Away by James Ryle

The God Who Gives Himself Away by James Ryle January 7, 2012

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found of you,” says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:13,14, New American Standard).

seek godDid you ever play hide‘n seek when you were a kid? Sure you did. Did you ever hide so good that nobody could find you? Perhaps. If so, let me ask you this — after awhile, did you get tired of hiding? What did you do to get caught?

Did you clear your throat at the appropriate moment, or click your tongue, or fake a cough? Did you throw a rock, or make some other noise? It was your way of letting the seeker know where you were; you were in fact “giving yourself away.”

God does the same for us!

He is right now next to you, breathing upon you, putting His hand upon your shoulder. Oh I know you don’t feel it — but, I’m tellin’ you, He’s there. Occasionally He even makes His presence known. Actually. Literally. Physically!

In other words, He “gives Himself away.”  He lets Himslef be found.

Just as a man in hiding would make his whereabouts known by stirring, so also God makes His presence known to us by stirring in our midst, by moving upon us with His Spirit. The fact is that no one could have ever found Him unless He gives Himself away! Unless He lets Himself be found.

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found of you,” says the Lord.

Perhaps you may wonder if you can find God? I assure you that you can. The Bible makes clear that you were created by God and put on the earth — at the right time and in the right place — to provide you the best possible opportunity to seek after and to find the Lord. “He is not far from any one of us.”(see Acts 17:26,27).

God gives Himself away to those who seek Him. But here is a thought for you to consider: He is seeking you! Are you hiding cleverly, thinking you will not be found? If so, isn’t it time for you to now give yourself away to Him? It’s easy, really — just call upon His name and say, “Here I am, Lord! Here I am!”

And you will find each other!


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