What Are We Hiding?
Most kids love to play hide-and-seek. It’s always fun for them to try to find everyone or be the last one found. At some point, though, all of us grow out of that “hiding-is-fun” phase… or do we?
Have you ever thought about all the things that we adults hide? I recently hid a Mother’s Day gift from my wife Sandy until the big day arrived. But the truth is we hide a lot more things than gifts. Here’s a quick list I assembled of things we try to hide: our doubts, our feelings, our past, the truth, valuables, wrinkles, weight, bad habits, age, debt, and the last piece of dessert. What would you add to the list?
If you look back through that list, most of what we hide isn’t positive. But would it surprise you to find out the Bible has a lot of positive things to say about hiding? Here are a few…
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7
In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3
Those are some amazing promises! But there’s another one that’s one of my favorites: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
I love the image of God’s word hidden away in our hearts. I get this picture of a heart so full of God’s Word in every little nook and cranny that no matter what happens in our lives today we are reminded of something in His Word that applies.
So, how do we hide God’s Word in our hearts? The simplest answer is we have to spend time reading our Bibles. We can’t claim to be a new movement of Methodists who are staying true to God’s Word if we don’t spend time in the Book! Better yet, how can we stay faithfully on the path of following Jesus if we only occasionally get in His Word?
I want to encourage us to become a people who are passionate about reading and studying our Bibles every day. Then let’s take it another step and find creative ways to hide even more of His Word in our hearts. Listen to it on our phones. Memorize it. Tape verses on our refrigerators. Sing it. Partner with a friend to talk about passages we’re reading.
What if we gave up hiding the junk of our lives and start hiding God’s Word instead?
-Mike Schafer
