"Our Hiding Place" - The Pastor's Windshield - September 2023

When Jimmy Buffet died this summer, many people shared their opinions about his life and legacy. Buffet made a career of writing escapist, “beach bum” songs. His most famous line was, of course, “wasting away again in Margaritaville.”

If it’s been a while since your last getaway, maybe wasting away in some tropical sunshine sounds pretty good about now! We all need to get away, perhaps to our own backyards, or to a good book, or to a vacation hideaway. We are created to need rest, time in God’s creation, and other healthy forms of refreshment.

Sometimes, however, Christians have been characterized as escapists, as if believing in Jesus is just a coping mechanism or a way of hiding from the troubles of life. What do you think? Is that what we are as Christians, people running away from life’s stresses and problems and hiding away in our theology or churchly bubbles?

It's my belief, though, that the Christian faith is far more than escapism. I believe that Christianity is objectively true, and I personally believe that Christ is not only our Savior, but also our Strength as we face such things as illness, bad news, broken relationships, and all the other trials of this life.

King David faced no shortage of real-life struggles. In the Psalms, he frequently referred to the Lord as his strength, refuge, and shield, as he lived through war, family strife, and the consequences of his own sinful actions. In Psalm 32:7 he writes, “You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance.” Is this an example of escapism to be avoided or of faith to be imitated?

I once had a parishioner challenge me on how and why “hiding” could be a good thing in our faith. To this individual, hiding was viewed negatively. It sounded like running away, operating from fear rather than faith. But here is how I see it: we can either hide in the Lord or (try to) hide from Him. But imagine trying to outrun God. How far would you get? There is no escape from the One who is almighty and all-knowing! Try as we may – and we dotry – we cannot outrun or hide from God. 

God is after us, to be sure, but is He after us like a bounty hunter aiming to make us pay for our transgressions, or is He after us like the loving Father that He is, wanting only to draw us back to Him through repentance and faith? Through His Word, God clearly shows us that He pursues us out of long-suffering, never-failing love. We try to run away from Him, maybe out of guilt, maybe because He has something to say about how we’re living, or maybe because we’re angry with what He’s allowed to occur in our lives.

But even when we run, God is there, both with us and before us, because what He wants more than anything is for each of us to run to Him, to find our only Refuge and Hiding Place in Him. He is your Hiding Place even when you come to Him with all your sin and guilt – even the “worst” of it! He can handle it. He can forgive you. In fact, He already has at Christ’s cross! 

He is also a Hiding Place for you when people let you down – your spouse, friend, teammate, coworker, etc. Every human being – from those closest to us to those in positions of power and influence – will let us down at some point because they’re sinful people like us. But those are times when God wants us to run to Him in prayer, to “hide” in His promises and His loving presence, and then to turn and face life’s pressures or letdowns once more, in the assurance that He will not fail us.

You may be familiar with the old hymn, “Rock of Ages.” The hymn prays that God would free us from sin’s guilt and power in our lives. The hymn also looks ahead to standing before God’s judgment throne. What hope will we have on that Day? In the words of the hymn, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.”

No other “hiding places” will work – not our good deeds or intentions, nor other people or anything else in this world. We cannot escape from God. But, we can “escape” to Him and hide in Him. 

Christ Jesus is our Hiding Place. We can always run to Him with the realities of our sins and troubles, confident that He will receive us in forgiveness and strengthen us with His grace. Some may call this “escapism,” but for us, it’s simply exercising our faith in Christ our Savior.

In Him,

                  Pastor Kory Janneke