Read Psalm 32:6-11. 6Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 8I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
David doesn’t see his time of great failure as a time when God is hiding from him. Quite the opposite! Our time of godly grief over our sin is our time to find God. It is the time to hide within God’s grace and mercy. It is the time to be with other believers shouting about God’s deliverance.
Sadly, many Christians process their guilt in the exact opposite way. They remove themselves from the community and from the experienced presence of God himself. Simply put, like our grandparents Adam and Eve before us, we still try to hide from God in our shame. Have you been hiding lately?
But in Christ, God never hides himself from us. He uses everything, especially our sin as an opportunity to instruct and teach us. In Christ, even our failures can lead to shouts for joy as our trust in the steadfast love of God is renewed. How is this possible? Because for the believer our righteousness and the upright heart is a gift of grace not a reward for obedience. It is by faith never works. If we didn’t obtain it by our own deeds, then we can never lose it by our misdeeds.
And that’s worth shouting about.
To live is Christ is to live in the open, shouting for joy over God’s covenant love for us in Christ. Never hiding FROM God, but rather hiding IN him.
Prayer. Jesus, you are my hiding place. Use even my sin and failure to teach me by your grace of your great love. Amen.
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To Live is Christ 