If you ever played that childhood game of 'hide and seek', you are probably aware someone is given the task of 'finding' and the others are given the task of 'hiding'. The challenge was to find the 'best' hiding place so you didn't get found. Back in the day, we had a great neighborhood for hiding - lots and lots of really well-concealed hiding spots on my property and the two that adjoined it. We had 13 citrus trees, a huge mulberry tree, and two pretty impressive sized junipers in my yard alone - not to mention the chicken coop, the fenced in pool area, shrubs, shed, and the like. All provided ample hiding space for one who could scurry up the trunk, duck behind a wall or two, or into the cover of the leaves fast enough. As I recall all the places I hid, none was as safe as the place I run to now! I run to the safety of God's arms. Today, it isn't so much that I am playing a childhood game of 'hiding' as much as I find I am 'hiding' something from God - so I run into his 'hiding place' and it is there that I find he deals with whatever it is I am hiding! We all 'hide', but God is after what it is we are 'hiding'.
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. (Psalm 46:1-3 MSG)
We all have "hiding places" we run to, don't we? Some are more skilled at the "hiding" thing than others. Try as we might, we just cannot seem to find those things that are hidden at times. The problem with most of our "hiding" places is the "purpose" behind our need to hide in the first place! Sometimes we hide because the guilt of our sin seems too big. At others, we hide simply because the "work" of being exposed is just too much - we'd have to keep too close of an eye on our pretense of being righteous. Probably one of the most telling reasons for hiding is the tendency we all have to feel "inferior" to someone else - so we hide what we see as our flaws and imperfect abilities because we fear judgment, don't like to have others show us up, or we just plain don't want to ever fail.
Regardless of why we are hiding, we need to recognize - there is only one safe place to "hide" and it is there that God deals with whatever it is that motivates us to 'hide' stuff in the first place. The purpose of hiding is to prevent something from being discovered. The only "safe" place where we can be who we really are is in the presence of God. Yet, we run for all kinds of other "cover" instead of the one place where we can just "let down our hair" and be "real". Why? I think it may be as simple as us thinking our "cover" is working! God is a safe place to hide - not to conceal us and our sinfulness, but to help us when we are in a place of need far too great for us to ever meet on our own. It is in the very presence of God where we are changed - our need to conceal becomes void as we languish in his love and grace! He is even a safe place for one to seek! Hide or seek - he is it!
I know many of my readers face challenging times today. There are battles with cancer, the depression of loss, the pull of some secret sin, the exhaustion of trying to be all things to everyone in your life, and even the worries of what will happen tomorrow in a really crazy world right now. Regardless of the challenge - run to God. Hide in him for a while. In your "running for HIS cover", you are running right into what will meet your every need. We desire to stand fearless on the "cliff-edge" of the challenge before us, don't we? Courage seems to slip through our fingers as sand slowly falling through the hourglass. We just don't know how to get a grip on what has us in the fight of our lives. Here's the secret we each need to remember - run to God. He knows! Seems too simple, huh? It really isn't. You see, when we run to the place where we are safe to be exactly who and what we are, we are open to receive the very thing we need to embrace the challenge head-on.
It is in being "real" with God, in the secret place of his refuge, that we are able to "get real" with the things and people we deal with today. God already knows we fear the "cliff-edge" - - we do ourselves no favors by covering up our fear. He already knows the storms are heavy upon us - - we don't "ride them out" by trying to row against the winds! Instead, we "sail through them" by allowing him to direct our sails. Remember - it isn't that we hide, it is what we choose to hide and where we run when we feel the need to hide. So, run to the only hiding place where all things good are at your disposal - God's presence. Afraid to? Don't be! His grace is sufficient to forgive our sin, his love fills every gap in our behavior, and his heart is always open towards his children! His joy stuns our senses with the awesomeness of renewal and awakening. His peace settles the rushing waves of doubt and fear which seek to overwhelm our minds. His healing touch energizes our frailness with renewed vitality. No better hiding place, but also no better place to seek! Just sayin!
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. (Psalm 46:1-3 MSG)
We all have "hiding places" we run to, don't we? Some are more skilled at the "hiding" thing than others. Try as we might, we just cannot seem to find those things that are hidden at times. The problem with most of our "hiding" places is the "purpose" behind our need to hide in the first place! Sometimes we hide because the guilt of our sin seems too big. At others, we hide simply because the "work" of being exposed is just too much - we'd have to keep too close of an eye on our pretense of being righteous. Probably one of the most telling reasons for hiding is the tendency we all have to feel "inferior" to someone else - so we hide what we see as our flaws and imperfect abilities because we fear judgment, don't like to have others show us up, or we just plain don't want to ever fail.
Regardless of why we are hiding, we need to recognize - there is only one safe place to "hide" and it is there that God deals with whatever it is that motivates us to 'hide' stuff in the first place. The purpose of hiding is to prevent something from being discovered. The only "safe" place where we can be who we really are is in the presence of God. Yet, we run for all kinds of other "cover" instead of the one place where we can just "let down our hair" and be "real". Why? I think it may be as simple as us thinking our "cover" is working! God is a safe place to hide - not to conceal us and our sinfulness, but to help us when we are in a place of need far too great for us to ever meet on our own. It is in the very presence of God where we are changed - our need to conceal becomes void as we languish in his love and grace! He is even a safe place for one to seek! Hide or seek - he is it!
I know many of my readers face challenging times today. There are battles with cancer, the depression of loss, the pull of some secret sin, the exhaustion of trying to be all things to everyone in your life, and even the worries of what will happen tomorrow in a really crazy world right now. Regardless of the challenge - run to God. Hide in him for a while. In your "running for HIS cover", you are running right into what will meet your every need. We desire to stand fearless on the "cliff-edge" of the challenge before us, don't we? Courage seems to slip through our fingers as sand slowly falling through the hourglass. We just don't know how to get a grip on what has us in the fight of our lives. Here's the secret we each need to remember - run to God. He knows! Seems too simple, huh? It really isn't. You see, when we run to the place where we are safe to be exactly who and what we are, we are open to receive the very thing we need to embrace the challenge head-on.
It is in being "real" with God, in the secret place of his refuge, that we are able to "get real" with the things and people we deal with today. God already knows we fear the "cliff-edge" - - we do ourselves no favors by covering up our fear. He already knows the storms are heavy upon us - - we don't "ride them out" by trying to row against the winds! Instead, we "sail through them" by allowing him to direct our sails. Remember - it isn't that we hide, it is what we choose to hide and where we run when we feel the need to hide. So, run to the only hiding place where all things good are at your disposal - God's presence. Afraid to? Don't be! His grace is sufficient to forgive our sin, his love fills every gap in our behavior, and his heart is always open towards his children! His joy stuns our senses with the awesomeness of renewal and awakening. His peace settles the rushing waves of doubt and fear which seek to overwhelm our minds. His healing touch energizes our frailness with renewed vitality. No better hiding place, but also no better place to seek! Just sayin!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a comment if this message has spoken to your heart.