When I visit my grandchildren, one game they love to play is Hide-and-Seek. I like it too, for a couple of reasons: all ages can play, and tired grandmas can choose hiding places where they can rest quietly for a few minutes.

Once in a while, instead of hiding themselves, the children enjoy hiding special toys. Hunting for Matchbox cars or finger-size princess dolls can be the ultimate in Hide-and-Seek challenges, but bigger items are fun to search for.

The last time we played, it was Skylar’s turn to hide something, and she chose her pink purse.

Wisely, she tucked it into a bush full of pink blossoms, and those of us looking for it had a tough time. We walked past it again and again without seeing it. Eventually we had to ask her for clues in order to finally find it.

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Sometimes we can feel we’re playing that kind of game with God, like he’s hiding from us in a place that’s impossible to find. And how about when we ask what his will is for us? Does he keep that a secret, too?

I think of Moses up on Mt. Sinai, all alone with God. He said, “Show me your glory, Lord.” In other words, “Come out from your hiding place.” And unbelievably, God did! He showed Moses something no other human being has ever seen.

And that wasn’t even all of it. Moses asked God to give him a partner in his travels through the wilderness, and God responded by saying he would personally take the job, guiding Moses with an audible voice. Another time when Moses asked what to do with obstinate followers, God answered him definitively. And when he stood in the gap and asked God to forgive the sins of others, God did that, too.

Why was it that Moses seemed to “find” God so easily? Why did God have such a high opinion of Moses? I think the key is in his attitude.

Moses viewed God as his only personal hope for succeeding at anything, his go-to Person for every need. He didn’t make plans apart from the Lord and never thought of God as his last resort. His first move was always toward him. And then, when he was told what to do, he followed orders exactly. He also spent time worshipping God, sometimes face-to-the-ground.

God looked favorably on Moses, to the point of coming out of hiding in a dramatic way. And he’ll find favor with us, too, if we’ll honor him as Number One. After that, finding him will be even easier than finding a pink purse hidden in a pink bush.

“One day Moses said to the Lord, ‘If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully’.” (Exodus 33:12-13)