Today I am choosing to hide inside my home with the air-conditioning
running non-stop!
I tell you a short while ago I felt soooo grumpy – it was
like I was under spiritual attack from the enemy…
I read something today that I felt I just had to write a
post about…and I can now see it all fitting together…isn’t God good how He does
that?
From what I read this is what stood out the most, “Don’t hide from God, hide in God!”
And I thought YES!
Yes, this is soooo important; it is a nugget of truth…foundational Christian truth.
It may be something some Christians do unconsciously daily
in their Christian walk, because during tough times we do pray and seek refuge
in God.
However the idea of
hiding in Jesus and not from Him I think is an important lesson that we need to
pass on, and teach other young Christians – because we all do come under attack
and when we do, our reaction matters!
I believe there are times in people’s lives (even for
Christians) when we think we should hide from God! You see the enemy is a liar, and will try to
convince you that you’re not good enough to seek God…let alone His protection
and help…but this is a lie!
Jesus came to SAVE
sinners!
You don’t have to have
it all together to seek Jesus…Jesus told His disciples to tell the world
that all people can have a relationship with God through Him, when they repent
and put Jesus first in their life!
“But I’ve called out
to Jesus many times before.” Does
this sound like you? Well I tell you, it was me! And even now as I live my life with God’s
help to put Jesus first in all things, I still fall short of God’s standards…I’m
not saying that I deliberately choose to sin, I’m saying that I do sin and stuff up…I mean you should have heard
me earlier…I was not very nice to my beautiful kids.
But I have a choice I
can repent and seek God, or hide from Him and wallow in my grumpiness.
What about bigger problems, you know the gut wrenching ones?
The ones which when they happen we’re left wondering, “Why
God are you allowing this to happen in my life, when I’m YOUR child?”
We must choose during these most horrible times to “Hide in
Him”, rather than believe the enemy’s lies and then hide from God. I have found that there are times when I
actually haven’t done anything really wrong, and yet something awful has
happened…I can’t control other people or
my world…but the wonderful truth is that no matter what changes around me,
God doesn’t, for He is constantly faithful and sure.
So here’s an idea –
let’s play Hide and seek and tag…YOU’RE IT!
So pass it on… “Don’t hide from God, Hide in Him.”
Love Mel J
4 comments:
Very true Mel. All the emotional upheaval - the downs and the ups - can make us feel that we are unworthy to enter the presence of God. However, it is our brokenness and sinfulness that should drive us closer to the Lord so that we hide in Him. He knows every thing about us, both our conscious minds and also the unconscious and subconscious and disordered and corrupted parts of our minds and spirits and souls, FAR BETTER than we know ourselves. So there is no use hiding. God knows it all already and he wants us to hide in Him and through that rest in the present moment and the present day knowing that each day has its own evil (see verse below) and we should not worry about the future as God has that all under control. We rest in him and live in HIm in the present moment. That leads to a renewed vitality and trust and inner strength in Christ.
http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-34.htm
New International Version
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
New Living Translation
"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
English Standard Version
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
New American Standard Bible
"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Keep being real Mel its great!
Very interesting post and something I'm currently trying to practice.
Even though my reactions vary, I usually try to hide from situations that take me out of my comfort zone. And the same happens with God. If He challenges me, I want to hide.
So, I have tried to do the opposite. I'm trying to vocalize. And it is actually working.
When I feel something is over my head, I start to explain it to God. And it's not a nice conversation because I am pig headed. But at least I'm telling Him why I don't want to do/experience/be/etc. what He wants. And because I am comunicating with Him, He can communicate with me.
Hopefully one day I don't need to scream at Him first, then grudgingly accept and then ask for forgiveness. It might be even good for my life to understand that :)
But the result is the most important thing ever for me. I can be hid in Him, accepting what He wants for me is the best and I can trust Him in everything.
Just read this by Tozer - thought it was very good -
Trials and Pain: The Ministry of the Night
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.—Psalm 30:5
But there is a limit to man's ability to live without joy. Even Christ could endure the cross only because of the joy set before Him. The strongest steel breaks if kept too long under unrelieved tension. God knows exactly how much pressure each one of us can take. He knows how long we can endure the night, so He gives the soul relief, first by welcome glimpses of the morning star and then by the fuller light that harbingers the morning.
Slowly you will discover God's love in your suffering. Your heart will begin to approve the whole thing. You will learn from yourself what all the schools in the world could not teach you-the healing action of faith without supporting pleasure. You will feel and understand the ministry of the night; its power to purify, to detach, to humble, to destroy the fear of death and, what is more important to you at the moment, the fear of life. And you will learn that sometimes pain can do what even joy cannot, such as exposing the vanity of earth's trifles and filling your heart with longing for the peace of heaven. That Incredible Christian, pp. 122-124
"Thank You, Father, for the ministry of the night, for the lessons of pain. But thank You, too, that we're not alone in the night. Thank You for the morning star and the glimpse of the light of morning. Amen."
Thanks for this reminder, Melanie. I've had to practice hiding in Christ recently when I felt tempted to think some really bad thoughts...I knew it wasn't what Christ wanted for me, so I did something a friend of mine modeled for me. She goes through the whole alphabet and thinks of an attribute of God that starts with each letter. About half-way through, my faith was strengthened, my thoughts were settled, and I was filled with peace.
Post a Comment