relatetomestories.com

Imagine you had decided to take a walk. A quick look out the window showed a threat of rain so you grabbed your jacket that had a hood … and you were off! It was only supposed to be a quick walk … a quick refresher … so you hadn’t paid too much attention to the weather before starting out.

You walked quickly down the road, reveling in how it felt to stretch your legs and get them moving after having been sitting for quite some time doing paperwork. You were thankful you had a place to go just to get away … even if only for a few minutes. Turning onto a well worn path you began heading in the direction of your favorite spot. Several yards later, the slight mist that had been coming down lightly changed … and became a downpour! Realizing that the hood on your jacket wasn’t going to cut it, you started looking around for shelter … anything that could protect you from the deluge that had opened up above you unexpectedly.

At first you saw a building with a slight overhang. Maybe that would work you thought to yourself. Walking over there quickly you tried to see if it was enough … only to discover the rain just kept coming down … not good. Then you spotted a porta potty right next to the overhang on the building with a small space in between … would that area be enough to protect you from getting drenched? Only one way to find out! Sticking your head in the space showed your face would be protected, but the rain pouring down from the overhang on the building just ran down the back of your hood in sheets … not good either. Only one option left … see if the porta potty door would open … maybe you could find refuge in there.

Finding the door able to open easily, you quickly slipped inside … and finally got a break from the rain that was continuing to pour down unmercifully. Looking around you noticed … as far as porta potty’s go, it was clean and well kept … with no noticeable smell (thank God!) You also noticed you could open the door and keep an eye on the rainstorm and the clouds without getting wet … a good way to know when to make a break and walk back home before the next round of storms passed through.

You had found yourself a hiding place … away from the unexpected downpour of rain that had assailed you out of nowhere. Once again, God had provided for your every need.

In life, we can look around and find ourselves assailed with problems and challenges that seem to come out of nowhere … circumstances and situations that seem to rain down on us … events that cause us to seek out a place of refuge from the storm … even for a little while.

We know we can’t hide forever, but we know … deep down in our hearts… we need to get away … we need to find peace … even in the middle of the storm. Fortunately, God has provided such a place.

When we intentionally seek God … when we intentionally desire to get into His presence …when we intentionally do whatever it is we need to do to set aside our worries and go inside the place of refuge He offers us … we will find rest for our souls. We will find the hiding place we need. We will find shelter from the storm that may continue to rage close by.

As we spend time in God’s presence we become fortified. We become stronger. We become more resilient. We become better able to handle whatever life throws at us … for in His presence we find power along with peace. We find strength to face the journey ahead.

 Deuteronomy 4: 29 (NIV) says, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Having found this to be true, personally, I encourage you to find your hiding place in God’s presence today.