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Are You There God?


 It is amazing how long a game of peek-a-boo can keep a young child entertained. I spent, what felt like hours, playing this game with my nieces and nephews. It seems as if every time you cover and uncover your face, you are doing magic right in front of them. In psychology, the term is called object permanence. Basically, this means that objects continue to exist even when they can't be seen or heard. Young children still don't have this concept, therefore, every peek-a-boo is truly a vanishing act. As adults, we know that a person putting a hand over their face doesn't make them vanish. In fact, we would be pretty freaked out if someone did. However, with God, we often forget this concept.

The time when I forgot that God did not vanish took place from June 2021 through May 2022. My wife and I went to a fast-food restaurant and got sick. She got better, but I got sicker and sicker. It got so bad that towards the end of that period of time, I could not feel my body and could stand for only short periods of time. It got so bad that I had to move from my apartment with my wife and move in with my family because I could no longer work to support my family. My eyes were so covered up with my problems that I felt like I was playing peek-a-boo with God. 

My vision of God was blocked by the hands of my undiagnosed sickness and increasing stress. It seemed as if God had disappeared because I could no longer see or hear Him. God is the perfect definition of object permanence because He is always there. He does not disappear when life blocks us from hearing and seeing Him. He promised in Deuteronomy 31:6 that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Psalmist states "Even if I make my bed in the depths you are with me" in Psalms 139. The Bible is full of God's promise to always be with us. We just have to remember that just because we can't see Him moving or hear His voice doesn't mean He has disappeared. 

I pray that you would believe in the permanence of God.


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