It is interesting that when the man and woman's "eyes were opened" they became foolish. No one can hide from God, though it is probable that all men have tried to from time to time. He is the All-Seeing-One, and the All Knowing One. He knows the number of hairs on our head (see Matthew 10:30). One thing that we can be sure of— when the Omniscient God asks a question, it is not because He is seeking information! When He asked Adam where He was, it was for Adam's sake. This is a question that echoes throughout the ages, calling man to understand how foolish it is to hide from Him.

Even so, every human being will spend his life trying to hide from God if the cross is not embraced. Even religious pursuits can be an attempt to hide who we really are from God. We can even use the seeming pursuit of God to assuage our own consciences so that we feel better, even though we are only increasing our deception. Such religious pursuits are always the attempts of man to try to meet with God on man's own terms. It is just another form of trying to hide from Him, and He is never fooled by it.

In such cases, we will only accept Him in the way we can understand Him. What we cannot understand, we reject. However, He is far too big for us to understand. It is the ultimate human arrogance for us to think that we can understand God, though it is the most righteous quest of all to seek to know Him. We must seek to know Him with the understanding that He will always be greater than our natural minds can comprehend. We will always see in part and know in part. Even so, to learn anything about His ways is more valuable than all of the treasures on earth.

James 4:6 states, "Therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" It is pride to think that we can cover ourselves, hide from God, and understand Him on our own. Such prideful human searching for the divine is one of the greatest delusions of all. The only way that we can understand Him is for Him to reveal Himself. If we really want to see Him as He is, we must humble ourselves and beg for His mercy.

The beginning of humility is to stop trying to cover ourselves and hide. Sin has caused us to turn away from Him. True repentance is more than just turning away from sin—it is turning to God.

Profound pride causes us to think that we can fix ourselves. Humility leads to His grace when we simply turn to Him, coming to Him just as we are, and asking Him to fix us. The humility that releases His grace is the acknowledgment that we need Him. Those who do this are never turned away.

The antidote for our tendency to hide is not just seeking to expose ourselves, but rather simply seeking God. When we sin, we must not run from Him, but rather to Him. He already knows what we have done, and He knows where we are hiding. As a father, my respect and appreciation for my children grows when they come to me with a confession of a transgression, rather than me finding out about it. I may still have to discipline them if they come to me with a confession, but my trust in them is increased even though they have made a mistake.

One of the greatest liberations we can ever experience is to know that everything is in the light. We will sleep more peacefully when we are not worried about someone finding out something about us that is hidden. Whenever we are tempted to hide, let us resolve to seek the Lord with even more diligence, always remembering the great promise of Hebrews 4:13, 15-16: