I have been thinking about how cool it is that we take a safe place with us no matter where we go. We are similar to snails—they carry their home on their backs, ready to pull into a shell whenever things get scary. The difference is that our safe place is within, and we can access it any time without physically moving. God no longer dwells in a temple made with hands, but in His people. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) He has given us His Spirit, and His very Life within.
We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We contain the wrap-around presence of God within us all the time. It’s kind of a cool picture, isn’t it? We carry Him, and He wraps around us and shelters us as well. So many things with God’s kingdom are both/and. His Life is in us, and we are in Him.
This means, though, that no matter where I am or what surrounds me, I always carry a safe place with me. I can hide in the shelter of His hands all the time, and thus am protected no matter what is happening physically around me. It reminds me of the old song, You Are My Hiding Place by Selah.
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say
I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
I think about God as my hiding place often when I am anxious or scared, and I imagine myself retreating behind His big hands as shields. He covers me, protects me and empowers me to deal with whatever the hard thing of the moment is. You are never without peace because you carry Him with you, just like a snail carries its shell.
Lord, you are my secret hiding place, protecting me from these troubles, surrounding me with songs of gladness! Your joyous shouts of rescue release my breakthrough. Psalms 32:7