Where Are You? The Father Comes Looking

Devotional

Day 1: Crying on a 650-Pound Rubber Roll

When life’s burdens feel immovable, we often collapse under their weight. The image of sitting atop an unyielding rubber roll, tears mixing with exhaustion, captures the raw honesty of human limitation. God does not shame our vulnerability but meets us there. He sends unexpected help—like two women heaving alongside us—to share the load. True strength emerges not in pretending but in admitting, “I can’t do this alone.” The Father’s question cuts through despair: “Where are we at today?” [37:49]

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What “rubber roll” are you straining to move alone? How might God be inviting you to release control and accept His help today?

Day 2: The Cracked Tile and Imperfect Obedience

Obedience often unfolds in messy, unpolished spaces—like a cracked tile beneath flooring no one else notices. God cares less about flawless execution than willing hearts. The delivery driver’s hesitation and the pastor’s stubborn “just get it in the room” reveal how God works through imperfect steps. Our mistakes become part of His redemption story, not reasons to hide. Stewardship means trusting His purpose over our precision. [36:20]

“Each one must do as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you avoided acting because you fear imperfection? How might God use your “cracked tile” moment for His glory?

Day 3: “Where Are You?” in the Garden of Hiding

Sin’s first symptom isn’t guilt but isolation—sewing fig leaves, crouching behind trees. Yet God still walks through the garden, calling us out of shadows. His question isn’t an interrogation but an invitation to reconnect. Like Adam, we often answer with excuses instead of honesty. But the Father seeks worshippers, not performers; He wants our true selves, not our curated versions. [48:33]

“And 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. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What “fig leaves” have you sewn to hide your struggles? What might change if you answered God’s “Where are you?” with raw honesty?

Day 4: The Father Scanning the Horizon for Prodigals

Obedience sometimes looks like limping home—not as heroes but as the lost. The prodigal’s father didn’t wait for apologies or reparations; he ran. God’s pursuit defies human logic, meeting us in our rock-bottom moments. Our return journey begins not with our resolve but His relentless gaze. Every strained step toward Him is met with a sprint of grace. [59:51]

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, ESV)

Reflection: What shame keeps you from turning toward God? How might His running embrace change your view of repentance?

Day 5: Worship as Monday Morning Floor Stomping

True worship isn’t confined to Sunday songs but unfolds in Monday’s grind—stomping flooring into place, laughing through sore muscles, praying over utility knife cuts. God inhabits ordinary obedience as much as stained-glass moments. Stewarding resources—whether gyms, schools, or relationships—becomes worship when done with Him. The question shifts from “Am I doing enough?” to “Are we doing this together?” [40:21]

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8, ESV)

Reflection: How can your daily work become an act of worship? Where might God be saying, “I really enjoyed my day with you”?

Sermon Summary

Obedience sometimes looks like doing something that is way harder than expected. A week of ripping out carpet, wrestling 650 pound flooring rolls, measuring twice and cutting ten times, learning tools, getting bruised knees, and sitting on the floor crying became a living picture of the bigger point. God was not absent in the middle of what felt horribly, horribly wrong. God kept asking, “Where are we at today?” and God kept reminding that the work was not being done alone.

Obedience also meant stewarding what God had already given. The campus could not sit mostly unused and still be called faithful stewardship. Every room had to become fruitful and multiply. The daycare, the school, the gym, the classrooms, the cafeteria, and the administration building all became part of one larger obedience, one location where people could encounter God. Coaching bodies and caring for souls were not separate callings. Both placed people in the right place at the right time to receive hope when careers, children, parents, marriages, addictions, and mental health had gone horribly wrong.

Genesis 3 shows the first time everything went horribly, horribly wrong. Sin entered, and Adam and Eve immediately covered themselves and hid. Sin did not just make them guilty. Sin made them hide. It created death, discord, and distance. Humanity went from walking openly with God to hiding among the trees.

God’s first move was not distance. God came looking. The question “Where are you?” was not about geography, because God already knew where Adam was. The question was relational, spiritual, emotional. God was asking Adam to tell the truth about where he really was.

The father’s heart is seen in that question. Ezekiel says God searches for the lost, brings back the strays, binds up the injured, and strengthens the weak. The sleek and strong facade does not save anybody. Honest weakness does. Sometimes the most spiritual thing a person can say is, “God, I’m not okay. I’m afraid.”

Jesus carries that same heart. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine for the one. The father watches the road for the prodigal and runs when the son turns home. The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Worship, then, is not mainly a room, a song, or a performance. Worship is walking with God, talking with God, being honest with God, and refusing to hide. The father is still asking, “Where are you?” and the invitation is to be found.

Key Takeaways

1. Sin makes people hide Sin does more than create guilt. Sin teaches the heart to cover up, withdraw, pretend, and manage appearances. Genesis 3 shows that hiding is not just bad behavior, but a broken instinct that replaces open fellowship with fear. [49:06]
2. God asks where truth begins The question “Where are you?” is not God looking for information. The question is God inviting honesty, because relationship cannot be healed through pretending. The soul begins to come home when it stops explaining and starts telling the truth. [49:48]
3. Stop pretending to be strong Ezekiel’s picture of God searching for the lost and strengthening the weak leaves no room for a sleek and strong facade. False strength keeps wounds hidden from the one who binds them up. Honest weakness is not failure before God, but the doorway where rescue can actually arrive. [54:57]
4. Worship is honest walking Worship in the garden looked like walking with God, talking with God, and living without shame or hiding. Songs can serve that relationship, but they cannot replace it. True worshipers are not performers with everything polished, but people who live open before the Father in spirit and truth. [61:42]
5. The Father comes looking Genesis, Ezekiel, Luke, and Jesus all show the same movement of God toward the lost. Adam hides, the sheep wanders, the son runs away, and still the Father moves first. The gospel begins with a God who comes looking before the lost even know how to come home. [64:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:14] - A Brutal Week and a Hard Lesson
[40:00] - God Was There in the Work
[41:02] - Obedience and Stewarding the Campus
[45:54] - Spaces for People to Encounter God
[47:35] - Genesis 3 and the First Wrong
[49:06] - Sin Makes People Hide
[50:12] - Death, Discord, and Distance
[53:36] - God Comes Looking
[54:36] - Stop Pretending to Be Strong
[58:18] - The Lost Sheep and the Waiting Father
[60:16] - The Father Seeks Worshipers
[64:12] - Jesus Came to Find the Lost
[67:18] - Honest Before the Father

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Genesis 3:8-10
“And 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. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’” [48:33]

Ezekiel 34:11,16
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” [54:57]

Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” [01:04:24]

John 4:23
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” [01:00:30]

Observation questions

In Genesis 3:8-10, what do Adam and Eve do after they hear God in the garden, and what reasons does Adam give for hiding? [48:21]
What kinds of people does God say he will look for and care for in Ezekiel 34:11,16?
What picture of worship is described from the garden besides singing or a church gathering? [01:01:42]
What were some of the practical ways the campus was being used more fully for obedience and stewardship? [43:54]

Interpretation questions

If God already knew where Adam was, what does the question “Where are you?” reveal about the kind of relationship God wants with people? [01:04:05]
Sin creates death, discord, and distance. How do those three effects help explain why people often withdraw, cover up, or pretend when life goes wrong? [50:18]
Ezekiel says God binds up the injured and strengthens the weak, but not the “sleek and strong.” Why can pretending to be strong actually keep a person from receiving help from God? [55:39]
If the Father is seeking worshipers in spirit and truth, how does that reshape the meaning of worship from a performance into a relationship? [01:02:19]

Application questions

When something feels horribly wrong in life, what is the usual way of hiding—staying busy, shutting down, avoiding people, pretending to be fine, or something else? What would it look like to answer God honestly instead? [58:03]
“God, I’m not okay” can be a deeply faithful prayer. What is one true sentence someone in the group may need to say to God right now? [56:02]
God’s question is not mainly “What did you do?” but “Where are you?” What area of life feels most important to name truthfully before God right now—marriage, family, work, mental health, finances, fear, or something else? [01:06:18]
Worship is walking with God, talking with God, and refusing to hide. What would help make that kind of honest daily worship more real this week? [01:02:53]
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Where does someone feel most lost right now, and what would it mean to let Jesus meet that place instead of covering it up? [01:04:24]
Obedience is not always easy, neat, or efficient. Where might God be asking for steady obedience even though the work feels harder than expected? [40:53]
God often sends help and does not leave people alone in impossible moments. Is there a place where someone needs to ask for help instead of trying to carry everything alone? [01:07:42]

Sermon Clips

44s

#GodSeeksYou

“Jesus came to find you. He came to find me. He came looking. From the very beginning of scripture, we see this picture of the heart of God moving toward humanity. Adam send and God came looking. The sheep wander away, the shepherd comes looking. The son leaves home and the father watches for him. Jesus comes into the world and he echoes the words of Ezekiel shepherd and he says, I came to seek and to save the lost. That is the father still asking, where are you?”

51s

#SinMakesUsHide

“This is one of the most telling effects of sin, to immediately look around to see who is looking, who saw, who knows. Sin doesn't just make us guilty. Sin makes us hide. It creates distance. It creates separation. It makes us want to cover ourselves. It makes us want to pretend that everything is okay when it isn't. God shows up and he asks a question, and this is a very important question. It's a question that he will ask over and over and over throughout scripture, and he still continuously asks it today. And the question is, where are you?”

40s

#GodStillSeeks

“And then sin entered the world, and that very first response was, hide. And that's what we do. Something goes wrong, and immediately, we want to hide. We isolate, we withdraw, we cover it up, we pretend. We tell everyone else that we're fine. But God knows differently. God is still walking through the garden and he's still calling your name. Where are you? The father doesn't just wait. He comes looking.”

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