“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7 NIV)

A favourite game in our house is hide and seek. The girls just love it and want to play it regularly. They never seem to get tired of discovering me, tucked into a large dog kennel or behind the hot water tank. They never weary of my finding them either, as their shrieks of delight echo throughout the house.

The downside of this game is that there are limited places to hide in an open concept home. The upside is that the girls don’t care. It is the fun of seeking one another that delights them.

Similarly, God delights in finding us, when we run and hide within His love during the downsides of life, those difficult times of stress and pain, confusion and uncertainty, when the world is just too much for us to bear, and we need to get away from it all, by seeking solace in Him.

And in Him, we find it, for the upside of our situation is that God does not ignore us in our hiding place. He comes to us and protects us. He shows us the best way to proceed, and He comforts and renews us as He reminds us of His love, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness. According to today’s verse, He surrounds us with His songs of deliverance concerning whatever situation we may find ourselves hiding from.

In fact, He goes on to state, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8 NIV)

These are words that cause my heart to echo with hope and encouragement, for they remind me that He sees me and never wearies of seeking me out within my hiding place in Him.

Today, if you find yourself on the downside of the game of life and need to run away and hide, even for a little while, run and hide in Him, for He will seek you out and with delight and joy instruct you in the best way to proceed back to the upside of life.

Prayer: Father God, thank You that You are our hiding place, and that You protect us from trouble. Thank You for surrounding us with songs of deliverance, for instructing us and teaching us in the way that we should go, and for counselling us and watching over us. Indeed, You are a good God in Whom our hearts delight. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Copyright © 2022, by Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Atlin, British Columbia, Canada

Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission