Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
They
were 110 stories tall, yet the World Trade Center Towers came down in a cloud
of dust. Now as a result of a terrorist act, they are history, and our
glass bubble of security in the US has been burst. We feel
vulnerable.
People
in many other parts of the world have lived this way all of their lives.
But for us, it is a new experience. When the September 11th tragedy
happened, I wanted to run and hide. I wanted to find some safe place
where I could go to process all that had taken place.
Let's
bring this down to where we live:
We
go to church. We talk to our friends. We go
shopping. We live our lives yet somehow something happens.
Something
none of us expected.
Our
finances are dwindling and we don't have money to pay our bills.
One
of our children gets sick.
Your
husband comes home and tells you he doesn't love you anymore.
Our
best friend has been diagnosed with cancer.
How
can this be? How dare something like this invade my world.
It
shakes our own personal world because now it’s not two towers in a far away
city like NY, it is our own backyard.
We
want to run and hide.
When
things get too big for us to handle we run and hide.
When
you were little did you ever have a special spot where you could hide from the
world? Someplace where not even your parents or maybe even your best
friend knew about?
Maybe
it was just in your closet in your bedroom or maybe the basement of your house.
Or
did you have a place like the top of an old oak tree like I did?
I
loved to climb trees. It made me feel like I could do anything.
Like i could conquer the world. It was also a good place to hide.
Now
when we were kids, we hid just because it was fun. We would hurry off and
keep looking behind us to make sure nobody is looking. Then when we are
out of view, we take off running full force to our favorite hiding place.
It's
awful hard to run and hide when you get older. I'm afraid now if I
climbed a tree they would have to call the fire department to get me back
down. Wouldn't that be embarrassing? Couldn't you just see the
headlines now?
Woman, age
61, stuck up tree.
I
can just see all my neighbors standing around watching.
We
as women also have a 'hiding place' where we go. This place is somewhere
nobody can find you and nobody else can even go there.
It
is your own wall of protection you build around yourself so no one can hurt
you. When I was just a girl, I started building this wall and so did all
of you. Piece by piece, brick by brick, we build it good and solid and we
hide behind it.
When
life gets to be too much to handle, we run there. Nobody else can see it
but they can feel it. They can feel the distance you have put between you
and them.
This
place is always there just like your own personal sanctuary. It is the
place where troubles don't exist because you don't think about them.
Nobody
gets sick
Nobody
dies
Nobody
talks ugly to you
Nothing
can harm you
Everything
there is perfect just the way you want it to be.
Sounds
good, doesn't it? Are you ready to go there right now? Do you know
of such a place?
This
place is a place to run and hide but it is also a very lonely place. If
you don't let anyone in then you are all by yourself. Does this solve any
problems? Does this make anyone less sick? Does it help your bank
account?
When
you lock yourself up inside away from others, the problem you are running from
still exists. No matter how much you just try to forget it and shut
yourself up away from it, the problem is still there and you have to deal with
it sooner or later.
The
Bible tells us about a hiding place. In fact, the scriptures offer us
many word pictures of absolute safety.
5 For
in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
pavilion--Strong's H5520 hut;
also a lair; covert, den, tabernacle.
Webster's
covert--hidden or disguised; protected place as for game;
H168
Tabernacle--tent; covering;
dwelling place; home;
H6697
Rock--a
cliff; boulder; refuge; mighty God one; strength
So
he gives us 3 different hiding places in this one verse. pavilion; tabernacle;
rock
We're
all painfully aware now that no towers built by human beings are strong enough
to assure protection. Yet sometimes I still run to towers of my own
building, thinking I will find safety there. Sometimes I run to my own
"intelligent" decisions, believing that my analysis of the situation
is best. Other times I run to the tower of human relationships, talking things
over with a trusted friend and accepting his or her 'take' on the situation
rather than turning to the Lord.
When
you're having problems what is the first thing you want to do?
Go
tell somebody.
Other
times I count on material help for protection, thinking money can take care of
it.
If
nothing else eases my fears then I run to the tower of my own shell,
-retreating from the world around me because the world is too scary.
BUT:
the Bible gives us another alternative:
Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong
tower: the righteous runneth into it, and
is
safe."
The
name of the LORD is a strong tower
The
name of the LORD
Just
His name is enough to give us protection
It's
his name that is a strong tower.
I
noticed something quite unique about this verse: Listen and see if you
pick it up.
"The
name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
**Did
you hear it?"
READ
AGAIN
____The
righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Doesn't
that sound like it is bad English?
You
know what it is though? He has taken it to a personal level.
John 3:16 says "whosoever shall
believe"
whosoever
means anyone
___The
righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Not
and are safe which sounds like it would be more appropriate, no, the righteous
runneth into it and is safe.
That
means anyone, not just everyone, not the whole crowd, no, it means you and it
means me.
The
righteous runneth into it, (and who are the righteous)?
you
and me and everyone who believes.
The
righteous runneth into it, and IS safe.
Exodus 3:13-15 "I AM THAT I
AM"
Exodus 6:3 "by the name
of God Almighty ...JEHOVAH"
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 57:15 "whose name
is Holy"
Jeremiah 23:6 "THE Lord OUR
RIGHTEouSNESS."
Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which
was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
**We
think of the many people who lost their lives in the Twin Towers that
day. Where was God? What kind of protection is a God who allowed so
many people to die?
Why
did he allow my friend to get cancer?
Where
was God when I was going through a divorce?
Proverbs 14:32 "The wicked
is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his
death."
**Even
in death we can take refuge in God, for through Christ death is merely the
event that brings us to the presence of the Father.
Death
is not really the end, but the beginning of life (if you are a
Christian).
Need
a place to hide when life overwhelms you? Try the strong safe tower of
the Lord! It's a place of safety--in life or in death.
I'm
going to leave you with one last verse:
The
one verse I want to leave with you is one we must ponder on.
It's
not one you can just read and say oh that was nice.
No,
it is one you have to read, then read it again, then read it again and keep on
reading it until it gets down to the very core of your being.
"Be
still, and know that I am God: I will be
exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."
Be still, and know that I am God
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