We all hide when we do wrong; don’t we? That is our first instinct. We love to move away from the light and hide in the dark.
But if we confess our sin and turn to God with a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) we have a hiding place in God.
So let us draw near to God in full assurance of faith that he is our hiding place (Psalm 32:7).
Then, there are occasions when we need a refuge in times of distress in life. No life is free from trouble and there are seasons when we feel burdened beyond measure.
Those are times we shouldn’t move away from God but inch closer to him. Emotionally we might not feel the love of God nor joy nor peace. In such darkness, God is more near than you think.
Don’t trust your emotions. But trust your God when there is no light (Isaiah 50:10). Then you will find God a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat (Isaiah 25:4).
As we sing,
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A weary land, a weary land;
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A Shelter in the time of storm.1
You will find him comfort you with a mother’s love (Isaiah 66:13) when you move to him, your hiding place.
But God is not just your hiding place in your brokenness because of sin and failure, and when your life is in distress. There is more.
Yes, more is the word. God himself testified that he talked with Moses like a man talks face to face to his friend (Numbers 12:8, Exodus 33:11). Earlier, Moses had spent forty days and nights with God.
Yet he was not satisfied even when God promised him that “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (Exodus 33:14).” He wanted to know more of God. And he made a bold request: “Now show me your glory (Exodus 33:18).”
Surprisingly, God did not deny that request but told him that he will put Moses inside a hiding place–a cleft in the rock (Exodus 33:22)–to see him.
In Christ, we have that hiding place. He is the cleft in the rock. Paul says our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).
But intimacy with God is reserved for those who long for God and thirst for God (Psalm 42:1) and like Moses (Exodus 33:13) and Paul desired, “that I may know him (Philippians 3:10).”
It is when you long for God like that he will be for you a hiding place.
Are you weary today because of your struggle with sin? Go to God your hiding place.
Are you weary today because of your troubles in life? Go to God your hiding place.
Are you weary today because of your lack of spiritual growth? Go to God your hiding place.
No failure in your life is final if you go to God your hiding place!
Read more posts in Living Streams
1Hymn