You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalm 32:7 (NKJV)

 The website I use for clip art has hundreds of pictures on most topics.  It is handy to find photos that are just right for my articles.  When I searched for “Hiding Place,” though, it only gave me one photo…a dog burying his bone.

I had to laugh, because Jesus is my hiding place.  I’m not sure if I’m the bone and He is the hole in this picture?  Some days I just want to hide from the world, get away from the hurts and pain.  I pray Psalm 32:7, You are my hiding place, Jesus, You protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Let me hide in You today, Lord!

Or, I might pray one of these verses…

Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings. Psalm 17:8 (NKJV)

 The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’  Deuteronomy 33:37 (NKJV)

There have been several times in my life when I’ve needed these verses.  I remember the day I was taken away in an ambulance.  It was the first time I lost a baby and we almost lost me, too.  I was so scared until the ambulance people put me in a stretcher.  The stretcher was U-shaped fabric, hugging my body as they carried me out the door.  I continued to feel that hug for the next month.  God’s everlasting arms must be like that.  Though I do not like troubles, the feel of having the Lord so close, being in His hiding place, is one I always treasure.

Today’s TEA CUPP:  Are you going through a rough time?  Sometimes the holidays remind us of past sorrows, and can bring sadness rather than joy.  Please look to the Lord, dear friend.  Curl up in His Hiding Place, read His Word, sip a TEA CUPP with Jesus each day.

You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word.  Psalm 119:14 (NKJV)