The Hiding Place of God’s Love
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Psalm 32:1-7
1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3. When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. [Selah] 5. I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. [Selah] 6. Therefore let every one who is godly offer prayer to thee; at a time of distress, in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7. Thou art a hiding place for me, thou preservest me from trouble; thou dost encompass me with deliverance. [Selah]
There is absolutely no true comfort without God. And there is absolutely no lasting peace until we confess to God our sin and weakness. Though He knows us better than we know ourselves, when we go to Him, begging forgiveness, he bestows upon His the unspeakable blessing of unending love, unfathomable love and incalculable grace.
When we deny our sin, we walk around, dragging our feet and feeling like a dark cloud hangs over our head. When we fail to admit to God or transgression, and refuse to acknowledge God’s power over us, we do, indeed, feel as if God’s hand is heavy upon us. We just don’t seem to be able to get it together, and nothing seems to go exactly right. Oh, we may be able to keep it together for a while. We may fake it pretty well for a time. But eventually we realize that all our efforts are futile, without God behind us!
The world today is so invasive and intrusive into our lives. There really are very few opportunities to be “alone with God.” I find it very challenging to get up early in the morning, and in fact have been sleeping later and later. It’s not a “sin” per se, but it is neglect of my obligation to worship God and my commitment to spread His word to others. I shared with some friends last night that I was in quite a “snit” yesterday. And I know that its because I was fighting what God intended for me to be doing. I’m looking to the future, making plans to fulfill His desire for me. But I’m wondering now if I should speed up that timetable and be more deliberate in my planning.
God is the only thing upon which we can rely in this world. To refuse to submit to His mercy and beg for His forgiveness is just foolish! He longs to be our “hiding place” from the trials and tribulations, from the temptations and distractions of this life. He yearns for us to seek Him so he can “encompass [us] with deliverance.” Webster’s dictionary defines encompass as “to envelope or encircle.” I long to be enveloped in God’s love and mercy. I need to be encircled by His mighty presence in my life!
Any time spent away from God can feel like an eternity! It’s foolish to deny our sinfulness and unwise to hang on to our pride. We are not self-reliant or all-sufficient. We need God in our lives. We need Him every minute, every second. When we humbly go before Him, he rejoices as He welcomes us back into His loving arms.
I hope you spend today offering up to God your pride and confessing to Him your sins, so that you may dwell again in the hiding place of His love.
Mary
