Hide-and-Seek

Have you played hide-and-seek lately? If you have little ones, chances are good you have. Their precious giggles usually give away their hiding spot.

It is so hard to keep very still when you are excited! I will never forget the time I hid in the closet in my house when I was growing up. I had discovered the perfect spot. It was hard to get tucked in behind all the card tables and chairs without making any noise, but I did it. I could hear the joyful screams as each hider was found, and I was basking in my hiding prowess. But after a while, I realized I had been hiding for a long time.

Eventually, all the happy voices were gone, and it was dark. I was alone and scared. Isn’t this like life at times? Everything is going great, and then something awful or unexpected happens. That is why Scripture reminds us to “fear not” more than three hundred times throughout the Word. But fear, anxiety, and depression are hard to deal with on your own. God tells us in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God” (KJV). He knows our situation. He sees where we are hiding. He knows we are scared. Trust Me, He says—I am God! He does not forget about us and move on to someone or something more important.

He is right there in the dark with us, and He asks us to cry out to Him. “I sought the Lord,” wrote the psalmist, “and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4, KJV). Last year, I was getting ready for elective surgery to replace my right knee with a “bionic” one. Woo-hoo! I admit I was a bit frightened at the prospects of what could happen. As I lay on the uncomfortable table with a big X marked on my good knee and the doctor’s initials on the bad knee, I felt so alone. Then the thought came to mind, “Be still, and know” (Psalm 46:10, KJV). God had this! I did not need to fear. How are things with you? It seems every family has something scary going on these days. Now, my deal was not life-threatening, but yours might be. I do not know what I would have done without Jesus and His promises.

God has so many texts that remind us He is there and that He cares. He wants to still the storm in your heart. Seek Him. Wait for Him. He will deliver you.

Cheri Gatton