Hiding in God

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1

When I was a boy, I loved playing “Hide and Seek.” Little made me happier than when I found the perfect hiding place, a secure enclave where no “seeker” would ever find me.

In a way, Psalm 91 envisions such a hiding place. Our translation reads, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” The word translated here as “shelter” (seter in Hebrew) is sometimes used in the Bible when people are literally hiding. For example, when King Saul tells his son Jonathan that he plans to kill David (Jonathan’s friend), Jonathan told David, “Tomorrow morning . . . you must find a hiding [seter] place out in the fields.” Psalm 91, therefore, begins by envisioning God as a hiding place, a place of safety and security, a place hidden from danger and harm.

Life is filled with challenges and dangers, with failures and tragedies. We who live this life in relationship with God are not immune to suffering. I think, for example, of several close friends who have recently lost loved ones. They are grieving even in the midst of their gladness for what their friends and family members now experience with the Lord. Yet my friends are able to take their grief to God, to share it with him in the safety of his presence. They find reassurance, not only in the fact of God’s protection, but also in the reality of his comfort and love. In him they find rest for their souls. They are, indeed, hiding in God.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have there been times in your life when you have hidden in God? When? How did it feel? What helps you to find shelter in God’s presence? What makes it hard to believe that God is a hiding place for you?

PRAYER: Gracious God, how I thank you for being my hiding place, my place of safety and security. In you I find rest, even in the midst of life’s turmoils and troubles.

Yet, sometimes I fail to hide in you, Lord, preferring to put confidence in my own strength and cleverness. Inevitably, though, I experience my own inadequacy. Forgive me, Lord, when I try to make it through life on my own.

Help me to turn to you in all times and situations, especially when I feel threatened or sorrowful. Help me to trust you more, to experience your safety and comfort.

Today, Lord, I want to pray especially for those who need your shelter. So hear my prayers for . . .

All praise be to you, Most High God, my shelter, my hiding place. Amen.