Following God often means squinting to find him. But learning to squint involves being willing to squint, and sometimes that can be the hardest part. After all, if God didn't play so hard-to-get, he wouldn't seem, well, so hard-to-get!

What we want is a co-dependent God. The term co-dependent is used to describe someone who takes responsibility for things that someone else should really do on their own. Sometimes people instinctively seek out others who are willing to help them hide their dysfunctions: to cover their drinking or pay their credit card bills or soothe the hurt feelings in the wake of their temper tantrums. At one level, it makes sense: who needs to grow up when friends will cover your immaturity?

I'd like God to be just co-dependent enough to save me from having to squint for him. After all, it's hard to see my way in the fog. It would be nice just to be able to throw up my hands when the doubts or frustrations start to build.

In freeway fog, drivers who quit squinting will inevitably crash. The same is true of our search for God. Hebrews 11 reminds us that God "rewards those who earnestly seek him." If I am to grow in my experience of God, I need to be willing to keep squinting and straining to look ahead.