“You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

Sometimes, I think God behaves like an offended wife…who has made her desire and her dissatisfaction known. As a woman, I understand this desire to be sought…not only sought, but pursued…with passion.

When a woman is offended by her man, it isn’t business as usual. Whatever he did to romance her before, he must up his game. He must come with true repentance, all guns blazing, ready to do anything to prove his love and sorrow at hurting his wife… Can any man or woman relate to this?

But God also behaves like a husband in love… When He came after us to redeem us, He came, not only as a Father, but as a Husband. However, there are times we grieve His Spirit, or maybe, we just become mechanical, unthinking, giving Him worship that costs us nothing… Our relationship, that was once hot, feels cold… And God seems silent, like the neglected wife who is tired of nagging.

It is in those times of silence that it appears God wants to be wooed… He wants to know that we want Him…that we are desperate for Him, as the deer pants for the water (Psalm 41:1). Yes, He still loves us, otherwise, He wouldn’t desire our affections… And we can even believe that He has forgiven us already, because He is that gracious. Yet, He wants to be wanted, not simply needed.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled…” (Matt 5:6)

When you do not hear God like you used to, instead of carrying on like it is normal, pause and reflect… This is the first step in showing that you care.

Someone, I believe it was Rick Warren, once said, “You are either building your relationship or it is dying…” or something like that. Basically, if you are not actively working to build your relationship with God, you are letting it die…which is the natural tendency of all things. It’s the same thing with any relationship, especially marriage. They require work.

If God is silent, maybe it is time for you to get silent and pay attention. What might He be trying to say to you through your present circumstance? What was the last thing you heard Him say? Were you obedient to it? Have you been faithful in it? Are you procrastinating? Do you need to confess and repent?

Is there something that is hindering your ability to spend time with God? Maybe life happened. Maybe it is a new love interest… Maybe it is even the work He commissioned you to do… But get this… As monumental as Jesus’ ministry was, He couldn’t have done it without making time for God. In fact, He regularly stole away to connect with the Father and said that He spoke ONLY what He heard from His Father… (John 12:49).

So, we can’t even let busyness or success in ministry be the reason we are not able to hear God anymore. If we are not hearing Him, we will make catastrophic mistakes. We may find that, at the end of the day, when we have preached to others, we ourselves will be cast out… (1 Cor 9:27). We may come to the pearly gates only to be turned away by these words, “I never knew you; depart from Me!” (Matt 7:21-23).

You may be like those to whom Jesus said He had a grievance against, that they had lost their first love (Rev 2:4). It is a serious charge. But it has a simple fix. Jesus said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place…” (Rev 2:5). This means, I still believe in you; I still believe in us. But things can’t continue the way they are. You used to care about Me before… I don’t feel your love anymore.

I WANT YOUR LOVE!

Isn’t that the cry of every wife? Or at least, every wife that feels neglected by their spouse… No matter the offence, they simply long for that assurance of love, the repentance, and they are ready to invest themselves again. Because the one who loves never loses hope…

So, yes, I do think God sometimes plays hide and seek with us… Except, I won’t call it playing. It is a serious issue. He wants to shake you up out of the path you are going, so you can continue on the right path, WALKING WITH Him… It is for you that He would withdraw and wait for you to notice… Or maybe He gave you a word, but you went the other way, so He silently watches, waiting for you to realise your error and cry out for His deliverance…

But, He is never too far… Even if He is seriously vexed, He has many angels He sends to go with you, to watch over you… But more than angels, we NEED Him. Like Moses said when God was angry with the Israelites and said they should go on without Him, only with His angles to guide them, “If YOU do not go with US, I am not going anywhere…” (Exodus 33:14-16).

Imagine if Moses had said, “Okay. No problem!” Wahala!!!

Men, just imagine your wife said that to you. “Go on to the party without me. You can even take the house girl!” Can you imagine saying, “Fine… No problem!”? Even if you too were angry enough to say such, what hell do you think will be waiting for you when you get back from your outing?!

Thank goodness, Moses spoke rightly. That, too, was a test. God is constantly testing us, wanting us to choose Him… To trust Him. To seek Him… And we will find Him when we do so with all our being. Make this your prayer today…

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…” (Psalm 51:10-12).

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