Where Do You Hide?

Where Do You Hide?

Where do you hide? In case you think this is a cowardly question or an invitation to cowardice, let me quote God’s Word on the subject…
 
Psalms 32:7 - Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalms 119:114 - Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Isaiah 28:17 - Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
Isaiah 32:2 - And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
 
God also talks about a “Secret Place”…
 
Psalms 18:11 - He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
 Psalms 81:7 - Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
 Psalms 91:1 - He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
 Song of Solomon 2:14 - O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
 Isaiah 45:3 - And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Jeremiah 13:17 - But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive.
 Jeremiah 23:24 - Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
 Jeremiah 49:10 - But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbors, and he is not.
 Lamentations 3:10 - He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
 Ezekiel 7:22 - My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
 Luke 11:33 - No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
 
So, I would say that God knows much better than we do that we DO need a hiding place.  
 
Notice that even the wicked have their secret hiding places.  God will uncover these hiding places in His own time but the wicked resort to them all the same. They, in their pride, seem to think that their sins will forever remain secret.  Are we, as Christians, any better than they are?  Sometimes not.  We too, have our secret hiding places that have nothing to do with God.  Of course no peace can be found in these secret places… no real fellowship… no real joy.  God will uncover those also.  But, these secret places seem to provide cover for the busyness, the stress and the battles of life.   We hide ourselves in our own cloaks of pride and arrogance believing that, just by our sheer will power and intelligence we can weather the storms of this life.  We use entertainment, accumulation of wealth, accumulation of the adulation of others, the bolstering of our own self worth by various means and many other techniques. One of the most common of “hiding places” tends to be in religion.  We use the cloak of religion to hide us.    We gather knowledge or we try to use our talents or gifts that were meant to bless others to bolster our own standing.  We try to enlarge our following and we garner praise. This praise and acknowledgement, by and from men, provides a warm cloak from our otherwise cold existence, does it not?  Yes… for a time… only until you fall out of favor with man or you are no longer the “hot” thing.   Even our “friends” will look other places for their warmth when our ember grows cold…. and it will.
 
Our most important and only truly reliable hiding place is in the Secret Place of the Most High, under the shadow of His Wings.  But God, I am convinced, has provided other hiding places for us in this life while we still have skin on.  Please don’t get me wrong.  This statement is in no way meant to help us feel relief from the responsibility of walking with God, but most Christian men are looking for true friends…  (Ladies, I don’t mean to leave you out here but I am speaking from a man’s perspective.  This may apply to women, too.  If so, then your are entitled to my brilliant opinions also... (-:  It's a JOKE!... Read on…)  Most Christian men are looking for true comrades in the pilgrimage…  Some other fellow traveler that can share burdens and help occupy until things are made whole.  No, I don’t believe this is idolatry or “Jesus Plus…”.   Now listen… Most men are looking for True Friends!... One more time just to make sure that you heard me… Most Men are looking for TRUE FRIENDS!!!  Sorry, I got a little carried away there but my motivations were honorable...  Just trying to make the point that most men crave for masculine acceptance and camaraderie.  You know, the kind that does not compete but upholds; the kind that does not “one up” but stands behind in full support; One who understands who he is and whom God is and doesn’t get the two mixed up; One who becomes that hiding place from the storm when you need it most; You know, the kind of friend that will not condemn or try to have all the answers when you share a hurt or problem; One who knows that he is in deep need of God’s Mercy and Grace every second of every day and dispenses that same Mercy & Grace because of it; The kind of friend that will admit his own faults and sins and allows us to stand with them as well; That last one, let me tell you, is the real kicker!  There are quite a few people out there that are more than willing to “be there” but not really willing to “BE THERE” with transparency and presence.   The Word of God tells us that if we are to have friends that we must show ourselves to be friendly (paraphrase).  How many of you men out there have approached a man or men in the church seeking friendship only to be left feeling beat up and worthless?  Now, how many of you out there have had this happen so many times that you have given up and fallen into the status quo ditch of “fellowship as usual” which, in many ways, is the wolf of the world’s version of fellowship in sheep’s clothing?  With this being the only option many of us have known there wells up within our flesh a strong urge to just give up on it and go it alone.  The challenge to me and to you, I believe, is to seek to become the kind of friend that was just described.  Our tendency, however, is to develop a bunker mentality which draws us away from fellowship with other Christian men and with God.  How many of you out there can identify with this?  Can I see a show of hands?  Yes, I see that hand.  Are there others?  Oops.  That was my hand (both of them!).    
 
I have good news for us all… or not (depending upon what we do with it).  My Bible says that we shall reap in due season if we faint not.  My aspiration (which at this point goes way against the way I am feeling)… Don’t faint!  *Good advice.  I think I’ll try it… You know, take the pro-active approach.  I think I’ll try to be a friend again.  What prosperity!...  to come to the end of life here on earth with many TRUE FRIENDS!!   There are going to be bumps and bruises along the way but you know what?  By faith, I’m betting that it’s worth it.   Even if we extend our hand of friendship and the hand of the other is not extended,  we must not quit.  In due time we will reap if we do not lose heart and quit.  So, now, by God’s Grace, and with the help of The Holy Spirit,  let’s take charge of some of that often misused testosterone and put it to good use becoming friends to other men.  The results will be that we will be hidden as we become a hiding place for others.  Talk about ambitious!
 
Now where did I put that pith helmet?!...  Charrrge!!...   And to (almost) quote a famous American: Full Speed Ahead and Damn Satan’s Torpedoes!!
 
I love you guys.  Let’s pray for each other!
 
*Note: My advice (without support from God’s Word) and $5.00 buys you a Cup of Coffee at most any Starbucks (if you can find one still open)…  so here’s the verse:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galations 6:9

 Larry Grizzle, 01/25/07