The Hiding Place

Then Moses said, "If you don't go with us personally, don't let us move a step from this place." Exodus 33:15

We live in a very uncertain world so where does the Christian soul find peace to live a Godly life?

The Place of Refuge For the Soul

Does your soul have a hiding place to endure the uncertainty of life? This hiding place is not a place we can find on our own or by our own efforts.

This hiding place is not some physical location but a place in which the soul can take refuge “anytime” -not just in times of difficulty and/or trouble.

Our emotions are tied to our thoughts. Our thoughts can be like winds that power the waves of powerful seas and leaving a trail of destruction within them. Our thoughts must not be cast upon things that are uncertain but on God who is constant and certain.

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

Psalm 91:1-2 “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. “

Psalm 91:4 “He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”

Psalm 91:9 “If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling.”

Psalm 91:14 “The LORD says, “ I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them.”

I don’t pretend to understand the ways of the LORD, I just know He works in mysterious and powerful ways that the human understanding cannot understand.

Ask yourself this question: “Have I allowed God open excess into my life (Your heart and mind and soul) to prepare my soul for what is ahead in “this” life?” Are my thoughts secured upon God and His Love?

Your Real Life

Colossians 3:2-3 “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Take some time to think upon this:

Your real life is “in” Christ Jesus- not “this” life you are currently experiencing.

Example: Though your body maybe suffering from cancer -this is not your soul’s life- this is not your real life. Your real life is hidden in Christ Jesus.

Just as a “handicapped” Christian maybe trapped in a body in which they have little control of – there “real” life is not their body but IN God who nourishes the soul.

Home is Where the Heart Is

I was watching the movie “The Hiding Place” and the more I watched it, the more I started to think about “the hiding place” was not some tiny place to hide Jews from the Nazi’s but it was a spiritual place within a believer’s heart.

God is our hiding place. He is our place of refuge, protection, encouragement, and enlightenment, and SOURCE of faithful, unfailing, unconditional love.

We will experience physical fatigue, loss, pain, sickness, hunger, sexual desire and so on - through our bodies but our bodies are not our home they are only a place that our heaven bound souls temporary reside.

We are in Christ. God is our home. There is where home is. There is where the heart is.

Why This Life?

Why didn’t God just skip this human experience and have us living with Him now?

Well think of it this way. Before you marry someone you become acquainted with him or her. You date and become educated about this special person of the opposite sex before you are joined together in marriage.

God wants us all to become acquainted with Him. God gave us a choice to accept Him or not. This is the place He chose for us to become acquainted with Him.

"So we, like Abraham, begin the journey. There is a longing in our hearts that supersedes our obedience to His will. We yearn to find a place of intimacy with Him. We want to see Him face-to-face! We are not content to worship from afar. Instead, we are desperate for His presence. We are more interested in Him than in the destination to which He is leading us. In fact, we discover on our way that He is our destination! He is drawing us to Himself, and this is exactly what He intended from the beginning. It doesn't take us long to realize how inadequate our resources are for this spiritual journey. We are suddenly cast upon His mercy and faithfulness to guide us along the way. At times our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak, and we are drawn away from Him. The cars of this life and the things of this world entice and seduce us, but He is persistent. He will not let us go. We wander into His presence for brief moments of divine inspiration, and then wander back out. We settle for occasional encounters with God instead of living in His presence. We are God chasers instead of God-pleasers." Dr. Dale A. Fife "The Secret Place" page 39-40

I believe God created this earthly experience so we could get know his handiwork “his invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature.” (Romans 1:20)

I believe God created this human experience so we would seek Him out knowing He put a measure of faith of Himself in us -knowing it would grow as we got to know Him more and more.

I believe God created the earth for a place for His children to learn about His love for us and be empowered by that love to do many wonderful things that we know we could not accomplish by ourselves.

I believe God created this human experience to see that nothing could satisfy the deep heart felt desires and needs but Him.

I believe God created this human experience to bring us up in the obedience of Him and to test our devotion to Him.

If God Loves Us Why Do Things Happen?

So why does God allow suffering, sickness and disease? Probably the same reason why there injustice in this world? We live in a fallen world. Why are some people healed and why are some not? We could go crazy asking these questions but no one really understands why things happen – only God.

I do know sometimes to get to the knowledge of God to go from the head to the heart – sometimes suffering is involved and those involved in such difficult lessons have a greater understanding of God’s love then those who do not go through such experiences.

My friend Janine experienced God’s presence everyday as she suffered and her body wasted away from the cancer. Through her suffering she experienced -a deeper and meaningful relationship with God came. The pain and loss of mobility she suffered was nothing compared to the priceless value and gain of God’s companionship. She was never alone. He was not separated from her even on her darkest days. He was available to her 24/7 because she trusted Him and wanted Him to be with her.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know they are good for us- they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:3-5

“It is His very presence that distinguishes us and makes us Holy” – John Bevere.

God’s love "active" in our lives separates us from the worldly mindset. Remember your first encounter with God -that changed your life and God became real to you? You surrendered to God’s calling and He changed you but God was not done changing you. He wants us to take refuge in His love. There is where the Christian soul belongs is encouraged and empowered despite trials and challenges.

In the quiet still hiding place of God the soul has life, love, joy, and peace. God lives in us if we have given our life to Jesus Christ. He is our goodness. True intimate fellowship with His goodness brings out His goodness in us.