He Is Our Hiding Place

HE IS OUR HIDING PLACE

Ever hear of "When the chips are down, look up"?  Facing any dangers or troubles, our courage in the face of danger should be our having faith in God.  A psalm of confidence in Him goes like this; "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.  Selah.  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.  The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted.  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah.  Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations He hath made in the earth.  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire.  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah." (Psa. 46:1 - 11)  In another Psalm it is in agreement; " I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." (Psa. 91:2)   And David wrote, "I cried unto Thee, O LORD: I said, 'Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.'" (Psa. 142:5)

Since we know Him to be our salvation, we should trust Him always, even when things are so weird, we don't understand and feel very confused.  "In God is my salvation and my glory: the Rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.  Selah." (Psa. 62:7 - 8)  We should pour out our hearts to Him, tell Him all our troubles.  He is there in Spirit, but He is listening!

A nation is only great whose Lord is near them; they believe in Him, and can call on Him; "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?" (Deut. 4:7)  When any nation turns away from Him, can they expect to call on Him, though they no longer obey as when they once believed?

Consider this record of a rale by an enemy in the days of Hezekiah; "Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, 'Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.  Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.  Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.'" (Isa. 36:13 - 15)  Here the Assyrian messenger, an unbeliever, rales against trusting in God to the Jews in their own language, to add to the insult, and expected defectors.  King Hezekiah got word, and did right in God's sight, and was rewarded for it!  What did he do?  "And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD." (Isa. 37:1)  He humbled himself, and in those days, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth as a sign of humility!  And God's reward to Hezekiah was this; "Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, 'He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city', saith the LORD.  'For I will defend this city to save it for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake.'  Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.  So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.  And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." (Isa. 37:33 - 38)  How completely the Lord rewarded Hezekiah, and note that He took His vengeance on a king who mocked Him!  So as Hezekiah called on the Lord, so let us be the same way!  "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." (Psa. 145:18)

And why should we trust so fully in God?  Because He is almighty!  Yes, He is mightier than a flood of wicked people!  "The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea." (Psa. 93:4)  If He created the sea, is He not stronger than it?  Consider the words in Jeremiah; "'Fear ye not Me?' saith the LORD: 'Will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?'" (Jer. 5:22)  So as God is in control of all seas and mountains, what is too hard for the Lord?  He is a perfect hiding place!

Did you know God's strength is perfected in our weaknesses?  Yes, Paul so stated to the Corinthians!  "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And He said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor. 12:7 - 9)  Imagine being Paul, and Christ telling you His power in you is more important than freedom from the messenger of Satan!  And what does this tell us about Christ's power and the believer?  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:13)  This was said another way long before the days of Paul; "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa. 40:29 - 31)  God gives the strength of incorruption to the believer, that they should never tire nor grow weary!

So now you want to find God, that He should be your hiding place, those who are seekers or curious unbelievers; how is that accomplished?  "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:13)  Blessed is the land with many churches, houses of the Lord, that you might find Him there as you seek Him with all your heart, as Hezekiah knew where to seek Him in the days of His trouble!

Jesus has all the power in heaven and on earth; He said so Himself, and He also said He is always with the believers in Him!  "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.' Amen." (Matt. 28:18 - 20)  So when we are founded in Christ Jesus, we will not fall!  "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." (Matt. 7:25)  Our Savior is a rock and a refuge!

So let us take confidence in our hiding place, our Rock, our Anchor, who walks through our camps and delivers up our enemies!  "For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that He see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee." (Deut. 23:14)  "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." (Psa. 119:114)  By reading His word, we can gain complete trust He will shelter us through the world's worst blasts!