Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.- Psalm 32:6-8 (NRSV)
Do you have a hiding place? A place to go that feels secure when everything around you feels out of control? In my mind I think of a tree fort when I think of hiding places. I never actually had a fort like that, even when I was young, but that image sticks in my head when I think of the idea of a safe space. A place to detach and sit quietly for a bit, resting secure in God? What image comes to your mind when you think of God as a hiding place? Psalm 32 speaks of God as our hiding place, where God surrounds us with joy in the midst of a time of trouble. God becomes a refuge and source of strength. This psalm was our appointed psalm a few weeks ago, and then our reading for Evening Prayer this past Wednesday. The theme of “hiding place” caught my attention. As our homes have become a place that we hide from the dangers of the world during the pandemic time, can they still be places that truly allow us to retreat from the troubles of the world in order to have our spirits restored in God?
I think that it can be a bit challenging to have a refuge hiding place these days. Everywhere seems accessible and connected. Often that is a good thing, but it can also make it hard to shut off, to find rest and connection with God when things get turbulent. I would say that my home office is the closest I have to a hiding place. It has my stereo and music collection, books, and a comfy chair. Yet it is also a work space, with internet connection and distractions galore. In an emotionally challenging moment, what we need is to sit with God for a spell. The imagery of hiding in God conjures thoughts of sitting quietly, patiently waiting for insight. Yet when I try that in my office, frequently the temptation of checking the news or other websites proves too much. If I am interacting in that way, though, I am not really hiding in God. I am distracting myself rather than sitting with God in a time of trouble. It is an ironic truth that it takes great energy to sit and do nothing in order to be able to find the rest we need in God. It is much easier to turn on the television or other distractions and ignore our unsettled feelings.
Do you get caught in that same temptation? Having the world at our fingertips can be good, but it can also mean that we cannot ever get away. What hiding places do you have when you need to step away from the world for a bit? How does God act as a hiding place for you? Maybe we need some adult-accessible tree forts for when we need to sit quietly with God!
ghts and Insights