Hiding Place

I grew up in a neighborhood with lots of kids. From the moment we got home from school until the street lights came on we were in the front yards playing. We would only stopped long enough to grab a quick bite of dinner when our mothers would holler at us from the porch. Whether it was a game of whiffle ball, freeze tag or jump rope, everyone joined in.

My favorite game that we would play was hide and seek. We would lay down the ground rules, everyone would yell, "not it" and the last one to be heard was the unlucky person who had to do the seeking. The person who was it would be told to cover their eyes and count to 50 while everyone else ran and hid.

In the Fernandez's yard there was a great big, thick bush that only I could fit behind. I was the youngest and smallest kid on our block. Even if someone should find me me there, they couldn't reach through the branches and tag me without getting poked and scratched. If they were brave (or desperate) enough to try, I would wiggle and squirm until their arms were all scratched up and bleeding. Most of the time they would just give up and chase someone else. It was the best hiding place ever!

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah Psalm 32:7

Have you ever(or maybe recently is a better choice of words) found yourself in a mess, wishing you could find a place to hide? In Psalm 32, King David is in a pickle. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. In an attempt to cover up his sin, he had Uriah sent to the front lines of battle where he was killed in service to the King. When confronted by his sin, David poured out his heart in confession before God and was forgiven, his guilt removed.

David no longer felt the need to hide from God in shame, but instead declared God as his hiding place, his place of protection. When temptation and trouble would come his way, God would be his protector. Trouble could not reach in and grab David. God was his deliverer.

While hidden David would hear the sounds of a victorious battle cry, shouts of joy, songs of deliverance as God would surround his beloved child with His unfailing love. Oh the joy of a heart that's been forgiven. Oh the grace that flows freely down. Oh the peace of resting in His presence.

That big thick bush in my neighbors yard was a great place to hide when I was young. It protected me from the big kids as they tried to take me down. But as an adult, as a follow of Christ I need so much more. I need a deliverer. I need a protector. I need a Savior. He is my hiding place.

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge... Psalm 144:2

Blessings - Lisa