"You are my hiding place; you will preserve me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." -Psalm 32:7
I love making little hiding places on our property. I call this one my Secret Garden. It is tucked in behind a lattice fence on one side and bushes on the other. At the entrance I planted boxwoods and put an arbor at the entrance. The brick pathway forms a cross. A stone bench sits in the corner for visitors to rest a while and enjoy the sound of bubbling water from the little fountain on the other side of the fence.
While preparing this devotional I was planning to use the song "You Are My Hiding Place" but I was not finding a video that I liked. When I came upon the video that is below I realized why. The message I was really seeking to convey is not so much to have a place to hide, but rather the result of being hidden in Christ. I've discovered the way the Lord works in my life is to give me what I need by having me be what it is I'm needing. We are to do unto others as we'd have them do unto us. It is in this way I experience what it is I am seeking. When I hide myself in Him my cup overflows like the water that bubbles up from the fountain in my garden and I have something to give others. This reminds me of St. Francis's prayer:
"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life."
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life."
God is indeed our hiding place, but it is not a hidden, out-of-the-way place like my Secret Garden. Instead, He surrounds and fills us as we serve Him out in the open. We become sanctuaries for others by His Power and Love and Strength.
Father, make me an instrument of Your peace that I might share all that You have given me.
Link to scripture: Psalm 23
Take action: Here I am, Lord
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