Where Are You?

This morning I woke up around five o'clock and had some difficulty going back to sleep. It was much too early to wake up on a Saturday morning, especially the last one before Daylight Saving Time. But as I lay there, this scripture came to my mind: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). A strange thought at that hour of the morning. I knew where I was. In my warm, cozy bed, but immediately I understood what the Holy Spirit was saying to me.

The past month had been a busy one at work. That, plus the unusually cold days, seemed to have taken a toll on my no-longer-young body. I wasn't praying as I would have liked to. Oh, I still prayed, but my prayers were sketchy, half-sleepy mumblings at nights and even less so in the morning. And God was saying to me, "Where are you? I want to speak to you. I want to commune with you and have fellowship with you. I want to wrap my arms around you and comfort you and ease your burdens, if you will let me."

I turned over in bed and said, "Lord, I'm sorry. Forgive me for being so busy that I do not have time for you." Right there and then I became wide awake and I began to pour out my heart to God as I hadn't done in a long time. I spoke, I listened and He spoke back to me. It was a beautiful moment of interaction with my Heavenly Father, and when it was over I felt relieved, refreshed and restored. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

Prayer has been on my mind a lot lately, and I believe that was the reason the Holy Spirit dropped that verse into my spirit. When He asked Adam so many years ago "Where art thou?" it wasn't because He didn't know where he was. He wasn't playing hide-and-seek with Adam. God sees us at all times, but in effect He was saying to Adam, "Where are you in your relationship with me? Why are you hiding from me? Why don't you run to greet me the way you always do?"

He said it to me this morning, and He may be saying the same thing to you. Listen. If you hear Him calling you, don't hide. Run to Him. He won't hurt you. He says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29: 11-13).