NIV Once-A-Day Bible Worship and Praise DevotionalSample

EYES WIDE OPEN Peekaboo! This game is fun for young children because they know mom and dad won’t disappear when they close their eyes. After eight months of age, most children reach a stage in their development where they understand object permanence. They understand that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard or touched. Before this phase, babies think that if they can’t see someone, the other person can’t see them. The world literally vanishes behind their closed eyes. As adults, we sometimes interact with God as if we are infants before the object permanence phase. We become convinced that if we hide from him, he won’t see our true identities. We even play this game with ourselves — ​“If I don’t look at this bad habit, or think about this problem, or talk to others about my sin, then it’s not really there.” Looking at something — ​or someone — ​can be scary. God saw Hagar. And Hagar responded wisely. She was honest with God about what she was doing. God blessed her for revealing herself to him. And when Hagar stopped getting in the way, her honesty allowed her to see God. God blesses our open and transparent lives. When we’re honest with him, we’ll start to see God for who he really is. Only when we see the true God can we worship him in truth. Lord, it’s difficult to let you inside the hidden places within me because . . .