Come Out of Hiding

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalms 91:1 – 2 (NKJV)

I’m a hypocrite. The truth hurts, but it also sets us free, right? My last entry (Yes, the one from three months ago. Click …. here to read: Fall in Love with Love), I talked about how I fell in love with Love (God is love, so I was talking about Him). He told me to quit running and hiding from Him, and I was ready to get back on track with my relationship with Him. Well that didn’t quite happen. I continued hiding, and during that time, a wall was built around my heart from my Papa Heaven.

I had decisions to make that I didn’t want to make, and although I was going with the Holy Spirit, I didn’t like the decisions. I turned down an opportunity to move out of town to go to divinity school. I was ready to leave and to do His work, but that isn’t where He needed me to be. That didn’t work for me because I was ready to go. That’s where I wanted to do His work. Well, at least, anywhere but Tallahassee, FL. (He reminds me time and time again: It’s not about me. It’s about Him.)

He called me to go further with my writing by starting a blog, but the more I thought about any “exposure” that it would get me (or not get me), the more I wanted to “wait”. “Who would read it?” I have to think about how to get readers. “Who would care about what I have to say when there are countless others who “minister” through blogs?” I have to make my blog different and enticing. “What makes me so … special?” I’m just me. (Yet, it’s not about me. It’s about Him.)

Not only that, I feel the closer I get to Him, the stronger our relationship grows, the bigger the storms get. “Why is their turmoil in my spirit the closer I get to you, Lord?” Truth of the matter, this had me a little scared. “If I’m going through this now, what happens when I get deeper?” I don’t want to leave this situation-ship I have with the Lord because it’s better than ANY of my other relationships, but I don’t know how far I’ll be able to go. I’m just going to love Him from a distance. Instead of running AND hiding, I’ll just continue to hide.

There’s a song I fell in love with this year by Steffany Gretzinger called “Out of Hiding” (https://youtu.be/XFkDqQtfs0w). When I first heard this song, I can honestly say I played it around 20 or so times in a row. The words spoke to me ever so clearly as if Jesus Himself was looking dead at me and telling me to come out.

“Come out of hiding you’re safe here with Me. There’s no need to cover what I already see …. You were the one I was thinking of when I rose from the grave …. I tore the veil for you to come close. There’s no reason to stand at a distance anymore. You’re not far from home …. Baby you’re almost home now. Please don’t quit now. You’re almost home to Me.”

In the New King James Version of the Bible, the title of Psalms 91 is Safety of Abiding in the Presence of the Lord. Psalms 91:1 (NKJV), “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” It’s summertime in Florida which means it’s hot as Hades when the sun is out (and sometimes when it’s not out). When I read this verse, though, I think of shade (and no not reality TV shade). When you’re in the shade, you’re covered. When we’re in the shadow of the Almighty, we’re COVERED. We don’t need to hide FROM Him. We need to hide IN Him. We’re hiding from God, but He is our refuge (Psalms 91:4). He’s our provider, healer, restorer, protector, and the list goes on.

Let’s face it: God is everywhere, so we can’t truly hide from Him. When we hide from the Almighty, we put ourselves in a corner which makes it hard to come out. When we’re hiding in Him, we’re covered on ALL sides – from the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. I’d rather know that I’m covered than have to think of a way to get out of the corner (where I put myself) trying to figure it out on my own. That’s not how God designed this life for us.

For me, I was hiding because I had an attitude. I built a wall up around my heart. Not because God hurt me, but because THIS is not about me. I had to go through an attitude check. I had to realize I was being a brat about not getting what I want. I had to realize that the desires He puts on my heart are not for my fame and recognition, but for HIS name and glory. I had to realize that the storms are to make me stronger FOR Him so I can go further WITH Him. When I realized these things, I felt like I failed in my walk which made me ashamed.

God has our back and the enemy tries so hard to have us feel ashamed and unworthy. He wants us to think we’re in this on our own, and God is too great to care about little ole us. That’s far from it - FAR FROM IT. We shouldn’t be ashamed because He knows our flaws. He made us! He knows us better than we know ourselves, and yet, He still desires to have a relationship with us. I may not be where I want to be, but I can’t help but believe I’m where God needs me. This is not an overnight process; He will continue the good work that He started within us until Jesus Christ returns (Philippians 1:6).

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” How can we show our faith in Him if we’re hiding from Him? How can we seek God if we’re hiding from Him? We can’t. There’s no way. I don’t know about you, but I want to please Him. When I get to Heaven, I want Him to give me a hi-five and a hug, and say, “That’s my girl! You did it! You did it just for Me!”

Every day now I tell God, I’m going with Him all the way – no matter where we’re going, what we’re doing, who comes with us, and who doesn’t come with us. I know with Him, I’m going places and my future is bright. I’m not going to hide FROM Him anymore. I’m going to hide IN Him and ride until the wheels fall off.

Join me and come out of hiding! He’s waiting for you.

Love you, but God loves you more!

If you have never given your life to Christ, but think now is the time; or you have before, but strayed away and now ready to come back, check out the Prayer of Salvation page. Romans 10:9 (NKJV) says,”That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."