My Hiding Place

I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
[Psalm 32:5-7 NKJV]

Our family home in South Kintyre, Dalbuie, (a name which can be translated as ‘agreeable place’), has been a refuge and rest in the natural world for the last 50 years.

When considering for 'My Fellow Prisoners' on Sunday, and the idea of being held 'captive with Christ', we were led to the description of our Lord Jesus Christ as our 'hiding place. It seems odd to the natural mind that the Bible encourages us to come out of our caves, and yet — at the same time — seek another place to hide.

We all need a hiding place; somewhere to run to when life gets too overwhelming; a place of peace and respite from the troubles of everyday life, no matter how large or small those troubles are.

He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. [2 Samuel 17:9a NKJV]

In 2 Samuel, the hiding place is a place of security from which a murderous attack could be launched, and in another side to the same scenario, we have David and his mighty men hiding in the Cave of Adullam.

So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there.
Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men. [1Samuel 22:1-2 NKJV]

This time it was for the Lord’s purpose. Can we always tell? Not always, but maybe you can see where we are headed with this. A cave, a hiding place, is somewhere to hide and gather strength before going out into the world; into a place of danger or conflict; out to - maybe - fulfilment of a destiny. Remember Jesus, laid to rest in a cave until a supernatural force rolled the stone away and released a promise that changed everything for eternity!

Our Lord Jesus Christ offers us nothing less than that miraculous change for every one of us; but first we must be hidden in the depths of Him. We must drink of the water of His word, that we may be refreshed; we must live under the shadow of His hand that we may be nourished, and only when fully equipped with His protective armour, can we stand against the enemy’s assaults.

Our hiding place is the place of growth and maturity, which only our Saviour can provide - the only sure place of refuge and restoration; of strengthening and sustaining; our all in all.

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You Are My Hiding Place -- Selah

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Wednesday 30th September 2020
We can choke God's word with a yawn; we can hinder the time that should be spent with God by remembering we have other things to do. "I haven't time!" Of course you have time!
Take time, strangle some other interests and make time to realise that the centre of power in your life is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

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