“Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!” Psalm 31:19-21………..
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1……………
Just moments ago I was laying down on the hotel room floor cuddled up with my dear Mr. Simeon, one of my two paralyzed dogs I’ve had for years now, in the middle of the night, when all of a sudden this thought just pranced boldly into my mind. “I wish I could hide!” Oh, how true it is! I do wish I could hide!
Just a day and a half away from moving into New York City, a place I have not lived in for nearly 25 years, a place to which I never planned to return, a place which runs exceedingly contrary to the desires of my flesh for quiet, peaceful, easy, simple, secure, warm, near-a-beach, economical, surrounded-by-family-and-friends living, oh, if I could only hide! From what exactly? The amount of darkness, of greed, of unkindness, of obsession with money, of scams, I have experienced in just weeks of staying in a hotel not too far outside the city, is astonishing not to mention daunting. And the truth is I could hide! I could run! I could turn away from God, and His calling, and His sending me there, and pack up my car with the dogs and my stuff and high tail it back down south, so south, back to the beach and a calm, cheap-in-comparison, peaceful lifestyle far, far away.
The Spirit of God combated my thought of hiding, reminding me of what just minutes before I had been studying in His Word. A word. A Hebrew word translated in the Bible into “secret place” or “hiding place”. A word linked with the Lord. Why? Because for those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord, who turn away from their sins and turn to Jesus as Lord, THE LORD IS OUR HIDING PLACE. We don’t need to hide under the covers of our bed, or run a zillion miles away, or zone out on drugs and alcohol, or give up, quit, bury ourselves in darkness, cover our eyes and ears so we can block out the world around us that is ever darkening with an ever increase of evil, to shirk our responsibilities and our calling, no, we don’t! Why?
Because JESUS CHRIST WHO IS LORD IS OUR HIDING PLACE, OUR SECRET PLACE, OUR SHELTER, OUR REFUGE, OUR HOPE, OUR TRUST, OUR PROTECTOR, OUR LOVE, OUR MERCY, OUR PEACE, and on and on and on. Does this guarantee life will be easy and secure and comfortable and convenient and simple and tailored perfectly to our whims and wants? No! Not when it comes to our physical lives! But it does mean that NO MATTER OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, we can HIDE IN JESUS, TAKE SHELTER IN JESUS, REST IN JESUS, REMEMBER WE ARE PROMISED FOREVER WITH JESUS WHEN WE COMMIT OUR LIVES TO JESUS AND LIVE TO LOVE AND FOLLOW GOD, such that NO MATTER WHAT WE FACE, when we are in the will of the Lord, HE IS OUR REDEEMER!
I can hide! You can hide! We can hide! IN CHRIST! Finding our hope and strength and redemption and the promise of forever fellowship with God – IN CHRIST! HALLELUJAH!
The truth is I couldn’t be more thrilled, excited, and blessed to be called to move into New York City, for God is sending me there to bring the love and hope and peace and Truth and rest and encouragement, and help and support, and Gospel and, yes, warnings, and call to repentance, and call to salvation, oh hallelujah, of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the next place He is sending me.
We live in a world of darkness, friend. It’s not limited to any one place, or any one person. We are ALL sinners living in a dark, darkening world, and we all need the hope of Christ, and for all of us who turn from our wickedness and throw ourselves at the feet and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can find our hiding place, our secret place, our refuge, our shelter, our forever, and ever, in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, glory be to the Lord God most high in Jesus Christ who is Lord forevermore! Amen!