Where Do You Hide?

Remember being a kid and having that "go-to" place during great games of hide-and-go-seek?

You know, that gem of a hiding place where you seemed to fit just perfectly, concealed from even the most competent "seekers." A place so out of the way, that no one, in their own frantic searches to find the best hiding place, even notices you.

YOU found the best, and you wouldn't dare tell or give up the location of your excellent hiding place because you always touch base first and are always home-free!

But after a tearful encounter with the Lord last night over some very deliberate sin of mine, I realized that I've been going to my own sort of adult hiding place and I'm ready to be found out if that's what it takes to be in truth and be free.

My "go-to" spot when I feel threatened, afraid and unsure is into my own head.

There, in my fantasy, I can indulge in the darkness in safety without being found out. I always know it's there and that it feels so much better than my painful reality . I can take my thoughts somewhere else so that I don't have to think about my problems and the real fear that I feel.

For the past few weeks, I've spent a lot of time there...

willingly...

I picked it...

over

and over

and over.

But a person who is in Christ can't, for any length of time, truly be content with sin.

A child of light has a hard time abiding in darkness.

So, while this place feels safe and familiar, it's uncomfortable there. The one who knows me better than I even know myself can spot me. He sees me squirming in my discomfort apart from Him and rushes to flood my hiding place with His light.

That's what happened last night.

The Holy Spirit illuminated all the dark places and made everything so clear...

He said to me, "I Am your hiding place, 

but you're using a poor substitute." 

Psalm 32:7 says,

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

WOW!

We just want to hide sometimes.

But any hiding place apart from God Himself is just a substitute and will never fully protect us the way He will.

His protection doesn't cause feelings of guilt or self-loathing or exhaustion.

His hiding place doesn't keep you under the covers or in places of seclusion.

When you hide yourself in the Lord and depend on Him alone to protect you, even fully exposed, you know that no harm will come to you there in His pure and loving arms.

You can be honest, you can tell Him what you're feeling and you can simply pick Him over that poor substitute (in my case, fantasy and sinful imaginations), knowing He cares about you, will forgive you and will never condemn you.

I've found the very best hiding place and it's safe in the arms of my precious Father.

But this time, I want to tell everyone!

With God as our hiding place, we can all be,

home-free.