I remember the good old days of potty training. During this season of motherhood, whenever I would be missing a child, I knew where I would most likely be able to find them. A poopy diaper was in the making behind one of the pieces of furniture in the living room. I would call their name. Soon after,  I would see a little head creeping up slowly from behind the couch with a facial expression and a stink that confirmed what I already knew had happened.

Genesis 3:8-9 (NASB)- “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

Here we see Adam and Eve are hiding. They are aware of their sin and decide to hide from God. It is amazing to me. They walked and talked with God in the garden. They knew God. How did they think they could hide from Him?

We do this too, don’t we? We sin, then we feel convicted. We attempt to ignore it and avoid God. Deep down we hope it will just all go away or get swept under the rug, but God loves us too much to allow that.

Genesis 3:10-11 (NASB) – He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

God is calling Adam out from behind the trees and the fig leaves. Adam responds to God’s question and then God asks another question. God knew what had happened. God knows everything. He wanted Adam to be honest with Him. He wanted Adam to confess his sin and what He had done. God wants us to be honest with Him. He wants us to be able to go to Him when we sin and fall short. He wants us to confess our sins to Him.

When I would call my child’s name and I would see his head come up from behind the couch, I would call him over. I would ask him why he was hiding. He would tell me what I already knew. He had to poop and instead of going to the potty where he knew he should go, he went and did it while hiding behind the couch. I always gave more grace when they told the truth. I wanted to encourage them to come to me and be honest. Unlike God, I didn’t always do it perfectly. When I didn’t do it well, then I had to go and be honest with God about that.

God is gently calling you and me out from behind the fig leaves. I pray we will respond to His call. I pray we will be honest with Him and confess our sins.

Thank you Heavenly Father for the way You love us. Thank you for not leaving us in our sin to die. I pray that by Your Holy Spirit You will convict of us of anything we need to bring out to You. Free us from this place of bondage and fear. In Jesus Name, Amen!