Our Hiding Place

Last night I had a bad dream -- one that frightened me but one that has a message.

Here's a run-down:

I was part of a high school or some sort of educational institute and I was a student, I think. At some point in the dream it became quite clear to me and to other students and people in the dream that there was an extremely bad man who was after us and wanted to kill us. All of us agreed in the dream that we needed to find a hiding place -- a GREAT one -- where we would not be found by this guy. We concocted a variety of plans -- one involved (and this is a bit of humor) all of us throwing a great big play or music show replete with (wait for it...) dancing Vegas girls, balloons and alot of music. But ultimately, we thought hiding was the best option. However, none of the hiding places were good -- they were either too easy to find, too obvious, not hidden enough or liable to break open and expose us.

Then I woke up -- and was frightened. I got the feelings in my hand of burning that I sometimes get (but haven't gotten) for about 10 days now. This feeling in my hand usually coincides with fear and anxiety.

So as I lay there thinking about this dream, feeling afraid, instantly I felt God make me aware of two things that were the meaning of that dream:

1) That the man in the dream was the enemy -- and he was pursuing me and others in that dream. He was intent on destruction and while we looked for somewhere to hide, no place would be good enough. Why is that? Because NONE of the hiding places in that dream were God -- not once in that dream did anybody say: "Wait - we need to pray!" or "We need God to help us out". Nada. Nothing. Just a bunch of people running around in fear because we couldn't find a hiding place.

2) That God is the ultimate hiding place -- I felt Him say "I am your hiding place -- the Lord is your hiding place".

It was when He said the second part about Him being my hiding place that I felt instantly comforted and enveloped by His love.

Scripture reminds us that God IS our eternal refuge... a place to seek out in all circumstances:

Psalm 32:7: "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance".

God IS the ultimate hiding place -- the only place of strength and rest in a world of anxiety and fear. Yet how often do we, like in the dream, run around unsure of what to do -- yet guidance and certainty is only one sigh in God's direction?

In that verse from Psalm, God does not say... "I am your hiding place but you still might be hit by trouble". If it said that that would be an admission of a pretty poor hiding place... in fact, what would be the point of having a place to hide if someone knew where you were? There wouldn't be a point, which is why God says just the opposite: He not only says that in HIM is the best place to reside, to rest, to renew and to hide but that HE WILL PROTECT US. This isn't some hansy-pansy line, thrown in our direction in the hopes of making us feel better. It is a real PROMISE - something we can hold Him to - because His promises are always kept and NOTHING will hurt us under His wing.

I love how the next line of that Psalm (verse 8) outlines what else He will do for you as He protects and shelters you: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

In that verse we see part of the promise of His hiding place -- it is not just a place to stop and wait for troubles to go by. It is a continual place of direction -- protected direction -- that He will use to point us along the right path. We can find rest there but at the same time His hiding place has a map (His Word (2 timothy 3:16), His Holy Spirit (John 14:26, Romans 8:26), His Son (John 3:16, John 8:12)) by which He will lead us to the next place that we are to go, still sheltered, still protected, still in His care. But first - FIRST - we need to seek out that cave of rest, that shadow of His wings, where He is. We have to tell Him we need it... we can't just run around and hope to find it on our own. His hiding place is open, but we need to ask Him to put us there:

Isaiah 4:5-6: "Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain".

In this context from Isaiah the hiding place of God doesn't seem as easy to find as we could expect -- Mount Zion is, afterall, a pretty high spot to get to on our own. But if we ASK, if we SEEK, if we call to our Abba Father, He will let us crawl onto his palm and He WILL raise us up to that high place where we will be sheltered from the heat of life and the storms of fear, the enemy and anxiety. Praise God for that -- and Praise God that His Hand is big enough to carry us and all our worries to a place that is not only one of rest and hiding ourselves, but one of renewal, redemption and further direction!

In the book, "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom, we read the story of a Dutch family with strong faith in Christ, who are taken to Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War and locked away there for hiding members of the Jewish community in a specially built bookshelf in Corrie's room at the top of the stairs. The family is thrown in prison but those who found rest in that bookshelf are saved from the Nazis.

How true is that in our own life? How apt is that description for what God has done for us through His Son? He allowed His Son to be NAILED TO A CROSS, to descend into hell, while we were hidden behind a bookshelf of redemption and renewal at the top of the stairs. God - like the Ten Boom's - took a punishment that was not deserved to save a people that needed salvation and renewal. God will bless the Ten Boom family - they will wear His Crown of Glory - because not only were they faithful, but because they hid the chosen people of God. Praise God for them and the Jewish people -- and praise God that He still hides us behind a bookshelf so that we don't face a horrific punishment.

I relayed last night's dream to my Mom this afternoon and I wanted to share with you the interpretation she gave:

- The school/educational facility is akin to the education I am getting at this stage in my life by the Holy Spirit;
- The idea of the Vegas show could be construed as in a time of adversity, our tendency to flail about with the ways of the world -- trying to find those easy answers that will distract us for just a little while but which are ultimately contrary to God; and,
- The realization that we can find no hiding place except in God is absolutely the right one -- we can and are pursued by the enemy in our lives, and we face many challenges and opportunities as well... in all of these things, the best place to reside is with God in a place of rest and renewal.

This dream, though scary at some points, was a good one to have -- and I loved experiencing the the ultimate sweet relief when I heard His voice remind me that "I am your hiding place. The Lord is your hiding place". For me that was the best part of the dream: God's promise of being right there with me.

Find your hiding place today in Him. He's there and he's anxious to let you rest in his security.

Just like a little bookshelf in a room at the top of the stairs.