Hiding in the Bushes
Sometimes (more often than I really like admitting) I get intimidated by a challenge or responsibility in life, and I just feel like running to hide in the bushes. It could be a really critical situation where I am keenly aware that the stakes are high, and I am holding some serious responsibility. And the more I think about it, the more I get intimidated and want to hide. Or, it could be a supremely mundane situation where the stakes are about as high as one individual may not care for the decision I make. And the more I think about it, the more I get intimidated and want to hide.
Hmmm...Who's that youngster the teacher had to drag out of hiding in '78?
Mankind has been finding ways to run and hide from difficulties since the Garden. We may have found many ways of hiding (alcohol, drugs, procrastination, pornography, Facebook, performing, hobbies, and on and on), but the results are essentially the same. When I hide from possible difficulty, and do something easier or more pleasant, I am basically declaring that I can’t trust God to see me through, and I had better do things MY way. And this always leads to disappointment and some measure of misery. Yet when I am willing to fully face life on life’s terms, and trust that God will provide me with EVERYTHING I need to get through any situation He expects me to face, my life is really infused with a deep sense of peace and security, and I seem to overflow with joy.
You know – life really is better out here in the risky places with God. Care to join me? Care to ask me when you think I might be hiding in the bushes? Care to make a wisecrack about my pre-pre-kindergarten class picture?
2 Comments
Joe · June 10, 2009 at 11:56 am
That’s you? I would have picked the kid with black plastic frame glasses.
I should have found a place to hide yesterday, instead of yelling and screaming (cussing) at the guy who rear-ended me, and the other guy who caused it (and then drove away). My food addiction, on the other hand, has “shown itself” in such a way there is no more hiding! Thanks for reminding Who my Refuge really is.
Roger Butner · June 10, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Funny you would pick that kid, Joe. Of all the kids in that picture, he is the only one I have kept some connection with for the better part of my life. Don’t know how the other ones turned out, but Luke is a medical doctor – fitting with a name like Luke. 🙂
In my experience, hiding your self and restraining the inner beast (flesh / emotional reactivity) are two very different things. Glad I could serve as a healthy reminder for you. May we both rest in calm security in our constant Refuge! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.