Where are you?
"Where Are You?" — God's Cry for Intimacy With You
Have you ever had a moment where you knew — deep down, without a doubt — that God had spoken something directly to you? Maybe it was a dream, a vision, a scripture that leaped off the page, or a word spoken over your life. And then, slowly, doubt crept in. The enemy whispered, "Did God really say that?" If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. In fact, that's one of the oldest tricks in the book — literally.
The Enemy's Oldest Strategy
In Genesis 3:1, we read, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made." I need to hit this one hard. When the serpent came to Adam and Eve — the first two humans, living in perfect relationship with God in the Garden of Eden — he did not tell them to deny God. He didn't say, "There's no God." What he said was, "Did God really say that?"
The first thing he attacked was the word of God.
Fast forward to Jesus. What's the first thing the enemy attacked when he came after Jesus? The word of God. But Jesus had enough of the word of God to say, "Oh, okay, that's wrong. Let me correct your theology." Adam and Eve, though — they heard one doubt from this crafty serpent, and they began to think, Hm, maybe he's right. Maybe I misheard. Maybe I misunderstood.
Can you not just turn on the news or scroll through social media, hear people saying things, and wonder, Where did they get that? They got it from the enemy. The enemy opened the Bible, took them to a scripture, and manipulated it just enough to get them off on the wrong path.
When Doubt Attacks the Promise God Gave You
So many of us have had a word from God — spoken directly from Scripture, through a dream, a vision, or through prayer and counsel — and we knew it was from God. But because God's timing is perfect and not always immediate, we begin to wonder. The enemy says, "Did God really promise you that? Did you mishear? Did you misunderstand?" And then well-meaning people — people with hearts of gold — begin to say, "Well, do you really think that's what He meant?"
I want to tell you: that's a message from the enemy.
When you've sought God, fasted, prayed, gone into His word, and it lines up — that's where you've got to bank. That's where you've got to say, "That's what the word of God says, and I'm not transitioning from that." As it says in Isaiah 40:31, "Wait on the Lord, and he will renew your strength." The word is still valid. He does not change His word. He never changes His word. If He said it, it shall be done — in His timing, in His moment.
The Second Question God Is Asking You
This brings me to the second of three questions God placed on my heart — a series He gave me during my sabbatical. Last week, we looked at the question God asked the prophet Elijah — a man who had fled in fear and lost sight of his ultimate calling — "What are you doing here?" (1 Kings 19:9). But today, I want to go all the way back to Genesis 3:9, where God calls out to Adam and Eve after they've sinned and hidden themselves: "But the Lord called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'"
Now here's what you need to understand: God already knew the answer. Just like when He asked Elijah what he was doing there — He full well knew. He was testing the heart. When He calls out to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" — He already knows where they are. Don't play hide-and-seek with God. He already knew what they had done. But isn't it interesting that He doesn't ask, "What have you done?" He asks, "Where are you?"
God's Ultimate Goal: Intimacy With You
That question tells us everything about God's heart.
God has a telos — an ultimate goal. And that ultimate goal is intimacy with you and me. When God entered the garden that day, He knew what had happened. He knew the serpent had done his job. He knew Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit. His only concern was — where were they?
"I want to be in a relationship with you. Why are you hiding from me?"
It wasn't a question of "Where are you?" because He couldn't find them. It was "Where are you in your heart? What happened to the intimacy? This is our time — the time you and I walk together and talk together."
Adam and Eve had a deep, genuine relationship with God. They knew the sound of His presence. When you're intimate with somebody, you know their laugh. You can hear them from across a room. Adam and Eve were in that kind of relationship with God — and yet, when the enemy came with one small doubt, instead of going to God and saying, "Hey, can you remind me what you said?" — they listened to snake logic.
They had God available. They knew He was coming. And yet they got it twisted. Church, I share that because we get it twisted so easily.
Why We Hide — And Why God Still Searches
When Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately knew something was wrong. And instead of running to the one who loved them most, they hid from the one who loved them most. We do the same thing. When people go through trials and struggles, they check out of church. They try to be solo Christians. They try to get their lives right before coming back to God. But the truth is, God created us for intimacy — with Him and with one another.
As theologian Henri Nouwen put it: "We are so resistant to listening to that voice because partially we want it and in part we don't. There are moments that we want to hear the voice of God... but we also don't want people or God to say things we don't want to hear. So there is as much desire for God as resistance against God."
We keep privatizing parts of ourselves. We keep holding pieces back. And yet God continually says, "I want all of you. I want the good and the things you're not proud of. I want the dark corner and the lit room. I want all of it."
He's saying that to Adam and Eve, who had done the one thing wrong. They had one rule. They broke it. And what does God do? He immediately says, "Where are you? I missed you." Not condemnation — a cry. A cry from a jealous God who desires to be in relationship with you.
The Gospel Is a Love Story About Intimacy
When you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — the four accounts of Jesus' life — what do you see? Jesus continually set Himself aside to be intimate with individuals. He'd divert His path to talk to the woman at the well. He'd stop for one person in a crowd. He knew their story. He wanted them to know: I love you.
And at the Last Supper, sitting in that closeness with His disciples, He took the bread and broke it and said, "This is my body." He poured the cup and said, "This is my blood." Why? Because His whole telos — His ultimate goal — is intimacy with you. He ripped the veil of the temple that separated people from God's presence (Matthew 27:51) because His ultimate desire is to be with you.
The gospel, from Genesis to Revelation, is the story of a God who is chasing people into their story, bringing them to the moment where He says, "I've got you. I know your story — the good moments, the bad moments, the boring moments in between. I know every plot twist. And I love you still."
Putting It Into Practice
So where does that leave us? Here are some steps to respond to God's question — "Where are you?"
1. Stop hiding and start talking. Whatever you've done, whatever you've been through — God already knows, and He's still searching for you. Run to Him, not away. Tell Him your story. He already knows it, but He wants to hear it from you.
2. Guard the word God has spoken to you. When doubt creeps in — whether from the enemy, from circumstances, or even from well-meaning people — go back to what God said. Pray it, seek counsel, line it up with Scripture. Don't let snake logic talk you out of a God promise.
3. Find your version of intimacy with God. Intimacy with God doesn't look the same for everyone. Maybe it's hiking ten and a half miles talking to Him. Maybe it's working on your car. Maybe it's sitting quietly with your Bible. The point is getting alone with God and saying, "God, here I am. Can we talk? Can we hang?"
4. Come to the table. The communion table pictures what God desires—to sit with you, break bread with you, and remind you of the gospel. His body was broken, and His blood was poured out not just as a sacrifice, but as an invitation back into relationship. Don't let that moment just pass by.
God is still calling. He's still at the table. And He's still asking — "Where are you?"