Your hiding place

‘You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.’ Psalm 32:7 NIV

Have you ever fantasised about running away from all the stresses of today’s high-tech world? Surely there’s a place somewhere on the globe where the pace is slower and the living is easy. That dream motivated a family in 1940 to move to an island called Guadalcanal in the Coral Sea. But two years later, war broke out in the Pacific, and the couple found themselves witnessing a battle – in their front yard. Obviously, they had chosen the wrong place. Where can you go to escape the noise and hubbub of city life? How about a small island in the Caribbean called Grand Cayman? Holiday makers to this resort say it is the closest thing to paradise on earth. The residents there pay no direct taxes. The water around them is calm and warm, and there are orchids growing everywhere. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But there’s a catch. Medical studies revealed that the two major ailments suffered by the citizens of Grand Cayman are hypertension and anxiety neurosis. Life on a tropical beach is not always what it appears to be. Could it be that the stresses and pressures with which we struggle actually come from within? Yes. And they will plague us no matter where we live, until we learn to deal with circumstances as they are. Here’s how the psalmist did it: ‘You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you’ (vv. 7-8 NIV).

Prayer Point

Sometimes I just want to run away from my problems. But I know that isn’t the best way to handle those moments. Lord, when I feel overwhelmed, fill me with Your wisdom, peace, and truth. Surround me with people who can encourage me. Help to know Your hand of direction in my life. Amen