God and the Closet

A couple of friends and I last week were discussing hiding in a closet.  Some days can be tough ones, and all you want to do is hide! We joked about bringing chocolate into the closet and sitting there and consuming it in our misery.  Well, God taught me this past weekend that we weren't far off the mark!

I have been doing the Beth Moore Bible study entitled "A Heart Like His" which is about King David.  My life in a lot of ways has been paralleling his experiences lately. There have been many a time these past few weeks that I have wanted to hide from people who have been critical and even hide from those who aren't being critical (in an effort to protect myself). Hiding from it all seems so much easier than having to deal with it all.  Well, it came as a surprise that my friends and I weren't the first ones to come up with the idea of hiding in the closet.  God highly recommends it!!!  Now, before you go thinking I am talking some kind of psycho-babble, read this:

Psalm 142

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before him;
before him I tell my trouble.
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who know my way.
In the path where I walk
men have hidden a snare for me.
Look to my right and see;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

Did you catch that?  Where was David at the time he wrote this psalm? A cave...a Biblical times "closet" if you will.  The cave became a refuge for him, but David never actually states that the cave is the real refuge. No, he says that God is his refuge!  So God is the closet we should run to when we feel like hiding from the world.  He is our protector, our hiding place.  God is teaching me to run to Him...hide in Him.  Have Him be my comfort.

And I am pretty sure, He won't mind if I bring a friend and a piece of chocolate!