Hiding is so much fun when we are kids. Hide ‘n seek was one of my favorite childhood games, and even though many times I thought I was in a good concealed spot, I was always found. 

     As we grow into adulthood, we still find ourselves playing the hiding game many times.

We hide money, we hide keys, we hide all kinds of tangible objects.  But for many people, hiding emotional feelings and events seem to be the most interesting.

     When we meet someone and begin to fall in love, we tend to attempt to hide our feelings, for fear of rejection or ridicule. Unless we know that the feelings are reciprocated, we put on masks and hide behind them. Subconsciously, we do what we can to guard our heart and if pretending to hide our true affections is necessary, then we pretend that we have everything under control.

     The thought came to mind the other day from a statement I made in regards to ‘stuff’, and how we hide behind it at times. 

     As I was driving home today, the thought reoccurred, and I tried to make a few mental notes as it seemed a noteworthy subject for me to enlarge upon.  So, now as I am attempting to bring this day to a close, it’s going to be interesting to see what develops before I close my eyes, or even through the course of the night. 

     The man who came to mind regarding hiding behind the stuff was Saul, the son of Kish, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the 12 tribes of Israel.  Saul was young, tall and handsome, and seemingly modest as a young man. Perhaps he maybe had a bit of a inferiority complex, maybe a bit shy. Surely he felt Samuel was mistaken in stating that God wanted him to be anointed the first king of Israel. He was found hiding among the stuff. The Bible isn’t explicit about what ‘the stuff’ was. Whether it was actual tangible stuff, such as feed bags, bales of hay or perhaps corn from the fields, we can only surmise. He didn’t do a very good job of hiding, regardless. 

     Of course, when God has a directive for our lives, hiding behind the stuff isn’t very effective. He knows all, sees all, and knows how to draw us out of our hiding places.

     I was thinking of a friend who went through a very dismal time, retired from a lifelong job, had plenty of money to live on, lost a spouse, was in love with a fellow employee, who apparently only reciprocated the feeling through the sexual concept of consolation, had  anything and everything seemingly a person could desire for happiness…yet ended up ending life in spite of all ‘the stuff’. The medical profession makes it easy to accomplish that feat nowadays. Drug abuse isn’t necessarily from the streets…rather the medicine cabinets in homes of ill or depressed family members. 

     See, hiding among the stuff only works for a while. It proves that which the Bible teaches us basically sums up the true meaning of life, as is stated in Matthew 6:33; “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you.”

     When we attempt to be self-sufficient, proud of our own abilities, confident that, as a popular statement proclaims, ‘you got this’, we don’t need God. Trouble ensues from that mindset.

     Even though Saul was hiding behind the stuff, God had chosen him to fulfill a role in life, which ultimately would be to his detriment; not because God made a mistake, but because of choices Saul made as he became overconfident in his role.

     We see that same scenario play out time and again in the lives of Christians. None of us are exempt. We are all human beings, subject to sin, and whether it be a sin of commission, as Saul’s was when he disobeyed Samuel’s instructions, or a sin of omission, sin is sin either way. And though we choose to sin, we cannot choose the consequence to follow. And there’s always consequences to follow. 

     It’s easy to hide behind the stuff when we have a lot of it. We can justify hiding behind the stuff, too, when we use it as an excuse to not obey God. We get comfortable; because sometimes when we attempt to move out of our comfort zone, the enemy reminds us of a sin which we have already confessed to God and been forgiven for, yet he uses it to contain us. So we cower and back into the shadows behind the stuff. Kinda sets one in mind of the liberal mindset we see now in society where these weak willed millennials cry for their safe space when they feel infringed upon. Same principle.

     Hiding behind the stuff isn’t difficult because we are very frivolous in our purchasing of stuff daily. It amazes me when I see yard sales by the road and the majority of stuff is clothes. Since we’ve moved into the simple cabin lifestyle, it’s easy to see just how much we can do without, rather than the opposite of seeing how much we can accumulate. It’s just stuff at the end of the day. Nothing is eternal, but our souls. And the more stuff with which we clutter our lives, the more complicated the stuff makes life. 

     So, what does God want? He wants each one of us to realize we have been created on purpose for a purpose. 

     We are living in perilous times. The mission field is no longer across the pond; it’s just outside our front doors. There’s people in our circles of life who are hiding behind the stuff. We ourselves are possibly hiding behind the stuff…whether it be literal stuff, or emotional stuff, or even spiritual stuff. 

     It’s time to let God be God. He wants to use each of us in whatever capacity we will allow Him. Not everyone’s called to preach, sing, or teach. But, when we avail ourselves to Him, He makes us able to be a light in this dark world. 

     Before I gave my heart to Jesus, a black man stuck a revolver in my face and robbed the bank where I worked. I helped them gather up the loot; while my life, as meager as it was at the time, flashed before my eyes. A couple of weeks later, I saw two girls I knew and had not seen in several years walking toward me in the mall. They looked like two bright lights in my mind’s eye. When we met, they embraced me and invited me to their church. I decided to go, and the first time I walked through the back door, I heard a voice in my mind saying, ‘this will be your home if you want it.’ I laughed to myself thinking, how can a church be a home? But I found out when I knelt in an altar of prayer and cried out to God, for His forgiveness, mercy and love. He became my Father, and the church members became my family. 

     You may ask, “And they all lived happily ever after?” No, quite the contrary. The first scripture God showed me to hide in my heart was 1 Peter 4:12-13, ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

 

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.’

     Since that time, which was over 45 years ago now, I’ve seen the reality of God’s Word in my life over and over. Jesus Himself said, in Matthew ch. 10, too lengthy to write it all, read it at your leisure, but v. 34, ‘Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword…’

     Does God deliver us from all our issues? No, not every time, the apostle Paul found that out and penned 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, ‘7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’

     As one person stated, “ if you can’t fix it, you just have to stand it.”

     But when we are hiding behind the stuff, we don’t have to address our needs. May God help us to once again to be reminded daily we are needy people…people need the Lord.

     “Take your candle, and go light your world”…stop ‘hiding behind the stuff.’

 

D. S. Mullis

.2018