Seek and Find God

by Annie Yorty

Children love to play hide and seek. Sometimes adults play the same game with God, but we can never hide from Him. And He doesn’t hide from us. We always receive a reward when we seek and find God.

Hide and Seek

I often chuckle when I watch young kids play hide and seek. Toddlers sometimes cover their faces and think they’re hidden from view. As they grow up a bit, they learn to find an object to obscure themselves. Often the object is inadequate, or they’re too squirmy or noisy to stay hidden for long.

When my siblings and I played hide and seek outdoors, we learned to conceal ourselves more effectively. We’d dive into bushes or crouch behind bigger objects and stay still for as long as it took to win the game—or until our stomachs started to growl.

The First Hide and Seek

The first people God created lived in a lush garden home that provided everything they could want. Best of all, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God.

The day they fell prey to the first sin, Adam and Eve felt a new sensation–shame. Later that day, when God approached, they were terrified. They realized their sin deserved retribution from their powerful Creator.

Their solution?

They hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (Genesis 3:8-10 NLT)

If not for the gravity of the situation, God may have chuckled at their juvenile attempt to hide from His all-seeing eyes.

Seek and Find

In a moment of distress, the psalmist wrote, “O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?” (Psalm 10:1 NLT)

Later in the psalm, he realized God is never far from him.

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t find God? Sometimes our emotions cloud our vision of the truth about Him. Our gaze fixates on a difficult circumstance or our jumbled emotions. We miss God, though He’s right in front of us. Other times, sin lures us away from the side of Jesus.

None of our misperceptions catch God off guard. Back in the days of Moses, God predicted His people would desert Him and worship idols. As a consequence, they would be exiled—scattered—among other nations.

Even so, God would continue to love them. Before any of these sad events happened, Moses explained how they could seek and find God.

From [exile] you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. (Deuteronomy 4:29 NLT)

At least a dozen times throughout Scripture, God reiterates this precious promise.

When we seek God, we will find Him.

God always responds when we desire more of Him. He never withholds Himself from us. He wants us to be fully satisfied with Him.

Two Resources to Seek and Find God

Thanksgiving

For the month of Thanksgiving, I invite you to join me on a Journey through the Psalms to Find Jesus.

“Wait a minute!” you might say. “Jesus only comes onto the scene in the New Testament.”

If you journey with me every day this month, you’ll find psalms that foretell and foreshadow the character, life, and circumstances of Jesus, the promised Messiah. Each day your heart will overflow with gratitude for the God who fulfills all His promises in Jesus Christ.

To get daily notifications to watch each day, subscribe to my YouTube channel. Don’t forget to share the videos with your friends and family who need to find Jesus too.

Christmas

With Christmas right around the corner, we need to intentionally prepare to keep our focus on Jesus despite the busyness of the season.

My Christmas devotional, 25 Symbols of Christmas: Finding Jesus, is a great tool for individual reflection or family devotions during December. Each day we unwrap a symbol or tradition to discover more about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas.

If you don’t already have 25 Symbols of Christmas, you can pick up a copy at Amazon. This devotional makes a great gift too.

I’ve also provided several free resources to go along with the book. At my website, you can download a coloring book for kids, journaling pages, a candy cane gospel to share with family and friends, and a birthday party for Jesus invitation.

God Always Seeks You

Jesus told a parable about a lost sheep to help us understand His heart toward every person.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! (Matthew 18:12-13 NLT)

In the Garden of Eden, God went looking for Adam and Eve. And, like the man with a missing sheep, God never gives up on lost people.

Have you been wandering? Seek God. He promises you’ll find Him.

Friends, let’s all seek and find Jesus, our Savior, throughout the coming months and into the new year.

Join the conversation:

What do you hope to seek and find in Jesus today?

We welcome your comments.

Copyright ©2025 Annie Yorty