Time Will Tell
And they heard the sound of the LordGod walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8–9)
When I play hide-and-seek with my granddaughters, I like to show them a new hiding place. Then, when it is my turn to find them, they will go to the place I just showed them. There have been times when I have been looking for them (or pretending to), and I can hear them giggling and see their feet sticking out from where they are hiding.
That is what it is like when we try to hide from God. When Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden, God called out to them, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). I don’t think God asked this because He was bewildered; I think God asked this because He wanted Adam and Eve to confess what they had done so they could set it right. God cannot forgive a sin that has not been confessed.
God wasn’t looking for information; He was looking for a confession. He knew exactly where they were. He knew exactly what they had done.
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To “confess” means “to agree with.” So when we confess our sin, we are agreeing with God.
Often we will try to rationalize sin, however. We might even try to convince ourselves that God is okay with it, because we haven’t been caught or faced the repercussions of what we have done.
But know this: God is never okay with sin. And God says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). It will surface—maybe today . . . maybe tomorrow . . . maybe a month from now . . . maybe 10 years from now. Because time will tell. It always does.
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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“The Bible speaks of a blessed hope that Christians possess—a hope that can function as an anchor for our little boat in the midst of a stormy sea. It is the only hope that will never disappoint: hope in God and in His Word. Hope is a great book to use in reaching out to people you know who are facing those hard situations. It’s also a great way to prepare for times of difficulty in your own life.” --Greg Laurie
Hope, provides biblical teaching about hope for those who have lost loved ones, those with hurting marriages, those with prodigal children, those who are lonely, and more
