One sheet and four kitchen chairs made the perfect hiding place.
Lovey was my maternal grandmother’s half-sister. Unfortunately, my memories of her are fading, but I recall she played with my cousin and me. One of our favorite things was to make a tent. We did this by spreading a sheet over four kitchen chairs. Seems like an easy enough exercise, but if we didn’t position the chairs correctly, the entire thing would collapse.
After we constructed our tent, my cousin and I entered and sat. Being young boys, we probably giggled and talked. We were in our hiding place…safe from the world. Although anyone could have easily discovered us by looking beneath the cover, we didn’t see ourselves as exposed.
God was the psalmist’s hiding place. Someone he could run to for protection when his enemies were fast upon his heels. Someone who comforted him when it appeared others had turned against him.
“For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.”
-Psalm 32:7 NLT
I’ve experienced other than honorable conditions in which I tried to hide from God. Mainly when I intentionally sinned or involved myself in other shameful behaviors. Rather than confess, I tried to hide like Adam and Eve. Hiding didn’t work for them, and it didn’t for me either. God’s convicting Spirit worried me until I made things right with God.
God would rather us hide in him for more honorable reasons. We can hide in him for comfort. When life—or others—have frustrated, disappointed, betrayed, or angered us, we can hide in him for comfort.
We can hide in God’s love. It’s unconditional. Nothing we do or say can make him love us more or less. He loves us consistently—although this doesn’t relieve us of living according to his standards.
We can hide in God’s power. Nothing life throws at us is more powerful than he is. Lion, bears, nor an angry king were more powerful than the psalmist’s God, and life’s present enemies aren’t more powerful than God’s power to deliver us.
We can also hide in God’s salvation—not from life’s trials and tribulations, but from sin’s power. Through the forgiveness offered by Christ, we can be forgiven and accepted by God. No more do we dwell under condemnation.
Let God teach you to hide in him—not from him or anything else.
–Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash
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