Psalm 32:5-7
I have three young sons, and it seems they, like most children, are in constant pursuit of the perfect “secret hideout.”
This is difficult because the six of us, including my wife and our very large dog, live in a modest dwelling with few unused square feet.
Often these “hideouts” are a sheet thrown over two chairs in the middle of the dining room, or a stack of pillows on the far side of the bed.
Suffice to say, “hiding” in our house is as much an act of imagination as anything else.
But I believe the same is true for the psalmist.
Is there a more beautiful image of what it can feel like to be at peace with God and oneself than imagining God as our hiding place (v. 7)?
More than simply the notion of “shelter,” the psalmist evokes the “hiddenness” of God. The comfort of knowing we are not only safe, but somehow removed. That we are unknown to those on the outside, but deeply known to those hiding with us.
So often in Scripture, the writers will describe “deliverance” in terms of “being found.”
This psalm invites us to conceive of deliverance as being joined in our solitude.
So we will know the relief of being hidden together.
Consider
What was your hideout as a child? How did it feel to be there?
Pray
God, help me to find myself in you this day. Amen.