I’M HIDING IN THEE
Today, as I write to you, I am rejoicing in God, my
Savior. It is a lovely early fall day,
lovely clouds dot the sky. And if I
didn’t depend on my Lord Jesus Christ to get me through these difficult days, I
don’t think I could hang on.
And I know there are many of you out there who are
feeling the same. Life is hard, the
world seems to be getting darker and darker.
I see so many right now who are going through difficult trials. And I am rejoicing, as I said, because we
have Someone to run to, Someone to cling to on these days of trials.
And we have a place to hide when the storms are raging,
when the waves are roaring around us. We
have a place to hide when the tears of grief blind our eyes in the lonely night
hours. I prayed with such a friend a few
days ago, whose husband had suddenly passed away after many years of
marriage. I haven’t walked that path,
but I could hold her in my arms and let Jesus comfort her. Where do we hide? We hide in Him, our precious Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. This old hymn was written
in a time of grief, and the author knew the only place he could run to was to
the Rock, Christ Jesus.
“Pastor William Cushing was only forty-seven when his
wife died. Then his health began to
fail, and paralysis affected his vocal chords.
He had to resign his pastorate, and he wondered what he could do.
About that time he received a letter from Ira Sankey, the
song leader for Evangelist Dwight L. Moody. The letter asked, “Send me
something new to help me in my gospel work.”
Cushing knew what was wanted. Sankey was looking for a new gospel song
that could be sung at Moody’s revival meetings.
He prayed that whatever he wrote would be something that would glorify
God.
Cushing recalled, “It was while waiting upon the Lord
that ‘Hiding in Thee’ pressed to make itself known.” The song had come from his
heart. As he said, “It was the outgrowth
of many ears, many heart conflicts and yearnings of which the world could know
nothing.” (From “Hymns” by Petersen).
HIDING
IN THEE
O safe to the Rock
that is higher than I. My soul in its
conflicts and sorrows would fly; so sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be;
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
Hiding in Thee, Hiding in Thee, thou blest
“Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
In the calm of the
noon-tide, in sorrow’s lone hour, in times when temptation casts o’er me its
pow’r; in the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea, Thou blest “Rock of
Ages” I’m hiding in Thee.
How oft in the
conflict, when pressed by the foe, I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my
woe; how often when trials like sea billows roll, have I hidden in Thee, O Thou
Rock of my soul.” (William O Cushing, 1823-1902)
In this season of my life, when my strength is almost
gone and I think about the days past when I had so much energy and was out in
God’s field in ministry and now I know that He has put me aside for His own
purposes. And I am reminded that His
work can go on, here at my computer and
in the newsletters I write and then that precious moment when I was able to
minister to my grieving friend in the aisle of a thrift shop. God use us no matter what “season” we are
in. And someday, in God’s time, these
particular trials will only be a memory and I will be able to look back and see
where I have been and see His footprints
all the way.
“God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof” Psalm
46:1-3.
No, we don’t have to fear if the earth shakes and
mountains tremble around us, and the seas of troubles roar. And I noticed the word “present” in that
verse. He is present right now to meet
whatever need you have. He hears our
faintest cry and sees those tears.
Sometimes I get so discouraged, but I know who sees my tears even in the
dark hours or when no one else even knows my pain. I am hiding in Him, I am running to my “God
of all Comforts.”
“Thou art my
hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about
with songs of deliverance” Psalm 32:7.
In those times when we run to our ‘Hiding Place” he will
sometimes drop a song into our hearts. I
have had that happen many times and in difficult situations. And it is like He is singing around me,
bringing me comfort. There is a
wonderful verse in the Old Testament which promises that He will do just that:
The Lord Thy God
in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with
joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” Zephaniah
3:17.
Are you hiding in Him today? Can you rejoice that even now your Lord and
Savior, your Precious Shepherd sings a song over you? And He rejoices over you with joy because you
belong to Him? There in that Hiding
Place He wraps His love around you even though you may be in the midst of a
storm and your world is being shaken. He
brings His peace in the midst of that storm.
Just like that day on the Sea of Galilee when the disciples were afraid
for their very lives and Jesus just spoke to the wind and waves, “Peace, Be
Still.” And there was a great calm.
(Mark 4:35-39).
In Jesus’ Name,
Pastor Sharon Besler
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