• Finding Our Hiding Place

    By: Kristen L. McNulty

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

    There's a tendency that many of us have and that is to hide from God. The concept sounds kind of silly on the surface because like God spoke in Jeremiah 23:24:

    "'Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?' says the LORD."

    Impossible To Hide From Him


    While it's impossible to truly hide from Him it doesn't stop many of us from trying. Some of us, like Adam and Eve did, hide from God because we are filled with shame over something we did.

    Others choose, like Jonah, to run anywhere but in the direction God has called us to because we are afraid of what He's asked us to do or how we might appear to others if we obey.

    Then there are those of us, like in the parable of the seed (Mark 4), who are in the middle of a trial and allow the pain, pressure and questions to cause us to scatter away from God.

    No matter which kind of hiding you identify with, it doesn't have to be this way.

    Satan might try and convince you that God has left you or forgotten about you, thus giving you a reason to run away and hide, but it's nothing more than a lie he's trying to sell you.

    Hiding When We've Sinned


    If you've sinned, God's Word tells us you don't need to hide, because He still loves you and has forgiven you. 1 John 1:9:

    "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."

    Hiding When We've Been Called


    If He's called you to something that is big and scary, you don't need to hide from Him or the calling, because He's not sending you out alone. Deuteronomy 31:6:

    "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

    Hiding When Facing Trials


    And if you're in over head with the storm that is raging in your life, you don't need to think that your circumstances have anything to do with something you've done wrong or Jesus not loving you anymore. In fact the opposite is true (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). If there's anything this last year in my life has taught me it's that sometimes the more He has in store for you, the harder the road to that place is going to be. Because like my best friend Carole reminded me after some recent devastation in my life, those who climb to the top of Mount Everest go through hard training for years beforehand and they still face a harrowing journey on both the way up and down. Because mountain tops are places to arrive, but they aren't places where human life can survive. Everyone who summits a tall mountain will eventually have to come back down. In the same way, most of us spend the majority of our lives living in valleys or climbing up mountains, with very few high moments up on top.

    Jesus As Our Hiding Place


    No, following Jesus isn't easy or trouble free, but when we follow Jesus and have a relationship with Him, there is no need to hide no matter what we face as Jesus is supposed to be our hiding place, not the person we are hiding from!

    1. He is a hiding place for those who have sinned.
    "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, 'I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.' And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory."  Psalm 32:5-7

    2. He is a hiding place for those fearing their calling.
    "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word." Psalm 119:114

    3. He is a hiding place for those in midst of trials.
    "For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music." Psalm 27:5-6 

    Find Your Hiding Place In Him


    So the next time you sin or stumble, feel in over your head with what God is calling you to do or are in overwhelming pain from the trials of this life, instead of running away and hiding from Him, run to Him and make Him your hiding place from everything else. When you find your hiding place in Him, you'll find unending love and forgiveness, the strength to endure and peace in the middle of any storm.

    "Be a follower, not a fugitive. Run to the Lord, not away from the Lord. Hide in the Lord, not from the Lord. When the Lord sees you next, may He see your face, not your back." Dr. David Jeremiah

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