After her husband died, she did not leave the house for months. She slept the days and nights away with sleeping pills and grief. She said these words to me, "I wanted to hide forever." She made a fortress of hiding places. She bolted her front door’s deadbolt, walked up the stairs to her room, locked the door, took medication, and then pulled up the covers, burying her head in her pillow to hide as deeply as she could. She wanted to ensure that even if someone found her, they wouldn't find HER. She did this every single day for a little over 12 months.
When life gets tough, most everyone has hiding places; some good and some not-so-good. It could be an actual spot...a cabin in the woods or a cottage on the lake; a bedroom or a special place to walk. It could be a hiding place of pleasure, like shopping or food or spa treatments. It could also be destructive hiding places like anger, overeating or under-eating, alcohol or drugs; even things like blame, depression or control. Although they may give temporary feelings of safety, they turn into places of confinement instead of freedom and deliverance. David ran like a literal crazy person when life got hard for him. He ran to a person, who was not able to help him. Then he ran to a king who was not able to protect him. He then hid in faking actual craziness. Actually pretending to be insane, hoping that he would be allowed to continue running towards safety. For a moment he forgot who he belonged to and where the safest place to hide really was. The truth is... he could have actually hid in plain sight if he had made God his hiding place.
How does a person actually, practically, hide in God? David ran into a cold, dark cave and that’s where he found the answer to that question. In the quiet, he began to remind himself of the names of the most high Jehovah-God. He meditated on his Creator, his Father, his Defender, his Deliverer, his Strong Tower, his Fortress, his Shield, the Lover of his soul, the Judge and King over all Kings. (including the king who was seeking to take David's life) He reminded himself of the promises of God. I wonder if, in that cave, he smiled as he remembered that he was destined and ordained to become king over Israel. I do know that his fear was lifted. He came out of the cave a different person than when he went in. He penned these words after he left the cave "Oh taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him'. (Ps 34:8) That whole chapter is one of my favorites. It is so filled with faith and confidence in God.
David declared "thou art my hiding place...". He got it, he learned it, he experientially lived it. God IS the hiding place, the secret place, the protection and covering. He is! It doesn't matter how many locks we lock behind us or how many blankets we cover ourselves with. The truth of Proverbs 18:10 will always be truth. "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it and is safe."
You are my hiding place; you always fill my heart with songs of deliverance,
Colette