My place to Hide

When I was a child, our farm had many dense trees. One small space in those trees became my hiding place. When my brothers teased me too much, or life was a bit difficult, or I just wanted to be alone, I hid in that spot. I even hid my special toys and trinkets there. It was my sanctuary.

In the OT, SANCTUARY refers to “a consecrated place where the deity dwells and where sacred objects are kept and worship takes place.” I didn’t worship in that hiding place but after becoming a Christian, I treasured the truth of a song that says, “You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance . . . .”

The OT word for sanctuary comes from a term about the distinction between the sacred and profane. It is translated as “sanctuary, shrine, or holy place” and most often refers to Israel’s sanctuary of worship. Directions for building this place are complex. The word also describes the sacred objects used there and even the space around it. All of it was associated with being sacred, dedicated to God, even a place of His presence and a place to hide from life and its challenges. The psalmists expressed how it was for them:

Psalm 17:8. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 32:7. “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah”

Psalm 119:114. “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”

However, this hiding place was also associated with people. Isaiah 32:1–2 says it: “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.”

The reason the OT tabernacle and temple were vital to God’s people is that this place represented His presence. He said in Exodus 25:8 to “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

For them, being there was being with God, even though He was with them wherever they were. Like God’s children today, many of us have a special or deeper sense of Him in our church or our own personal hiding places.

Psalm 27:4–5. “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.”

Psalm 31:19–20. “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.”

Psalm 91:1–2. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ ”

Notice that the shelter moves from being a location to being God Himself. He is the hiding place for His people. In Him we put our trust and in a deeper sense of His presence we are more deeply aware of His loving care and protection.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The mother of the Wesley’s is said to have thrown her apron over her head so her many children knew she was praying and would not interrupt her. This ‘hiding’ under an apron was her sanctuary, her place with God. For me, it is turning my thoughts to the facts that He is here, speaking to me from His Word and through His Spirit, listening to me and taking care of me. He is my hiding place when I am joyful, burdened, blessed with plenty or feeling needy. He always “fills my heart with songs of deliverance” so whenever I am afraid, doubtful, upset or in trouble, He pulls me close and restores my understanding of His loving care. Truly the Lord God is my sanctuary, both a place of worship and rest, and my place to hide.