Tag: hiding place

call on His name

Karla Lees

The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

Not only is God Himself our stronghold, our safe refuge, but His very name is a strong fortress!

Have you ever faced something so mind-numbing, grief-paralyzing or shockingly painful that the only word you could speak was Jesus? I know I have, and the peace that He poured into my heart, mind and body as I continued to cling to His Name? Amazing.

If you too need Him to draw close to you, call on His Name, and picture yourself running into His embrace.

He is our ever present source of refuge, and He is just a Name away!

Join the chorus of believers crying out for God from across the ages… for His Name was, is, and always will be our Refuge, Fortress, and Home!

image

PS. This piece was featured as one of Remade Ministries Drops of Encouragement, where I am one of their guest contributors.  Drop by & be encouraged, or sign up for e-updates of new posts at: http://remade-ministries.org/devotion/call-on-his-name/

run for shelter

Karla Lees

For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. Psalm 61:3

There is a promise in these words, as well as a few critical facts we need to know.

God has always been our shelter, and always will be.

He is our refuge, our hiding place from the enemy.

He alone is the strength we need when the enemy begins to attack.

The enemy cannot penetrate His fortress, for He is stronger!

Need a place to hide out?

Weary in the midst of the battle?

Take shelter with the only One the enemy cannot defeat!!

Let Him be the safe place you run to!

image

when the ground is shaking

Karla Lees

Your work schedule has drastically changed,

illness has suddenly inconvenienced you,

the bills keep getting higher,

and the weight of it all makes you feel like you are on shaky ground.

Maybe, just maybe, you are like me.

You can carry too much on your own shoulders, and all it takes is one shift of one situation to throw your balance off kilter.

Like Chicken Little, you begin to think the sky is falling, and you proceed to run around like a little chick in circles.

You too may forget to look up, & give up.

Look up into the face of the One who wants to show you the love He has for you.

Give up trying to do it all alone, and allow Him to shoulder the burden you were never designed to carry.

That sounds so simple, yet many days i find it more of a struggle.

Because i forget to look up, and give up.

When He strengthens me, i can do way more than i ever dreamed or believed i could.

Because He is so much more than we can even imagine!

When i make the time to worship, dig deeper into the Word, and listen to hear His voice above the world’s murmurs of busyness….He never fails to remind me He is there for me, and longs for me to look up, and give up.  When i do, these words come to life within me:

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.   Psalm 62:1-2 ESV

And He reminds me of these such truths, through my daily quiet time, worship, instagram, Twitter & Facebook, the words of fellow believers and even different translations of the same verse.! Sometimes hearing a familiar Word put a different way can awaken your soul to it afresh:

God, the one and only—I’ll wait as long as He says. Everything I need comes from Him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.  Psalm 62:1-2 MSG

God, may i ever take my eyes off of myself & my circumstances and look up to You first before and above all.

Help me to give up what i am carrying, even if i don’t know i am. Free up space within for my soul to breathe in Your company.  Be the solid Rock i am anchored upon, my hiding place & fortress of strength.

In and through and with You, I can make it through, knowing You are more than enough, all i need.

psalm 62v1n2

 

hiding place- when is the right time to retreat?

Karla Lees

image

You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble & surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 NIV

God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. Psalm 32:7 MSG

I have learned the hard way that every time is the best time to retreat & seek His Presence.

When I was a newer believer, I felt I had to physically go somewhere to be able to find that quiet place to connect, and plug into God.

Graham Cooke changed all that for me.

When we were attending the Vineyard, Graham came as a guest teacher at a prophetic conference I attended.

God spoke a word through him that is with me still.

Jesus so obviously demonstrated it when He was here on earth, I don’t know how I had missed it.

Holy Spirit confirmed it for me then, and continues to whisper & remind me of its truth daily.

The place where we can meet God, retreat?
The secret place of the Most High?
The quiet place where we can connect with Him at anytime?

Within us.

How did i miss that we are LITERALLY His temple, not just figuratively.

God literally moves in and dwells, inhabits, lives within us!

24/7.

Any time is the right time to seek Him.

When I quiet myself, I can plug into Him inside. I can sense His Presence, hear His voice, feel His heart beat & the rhythm of His breathing.

He guide me, calms me, loves me, heals me, is with me.

He is my hiding place.
With me wherever I go.

I cannot fully explain just how awesome that revelation not only made me feel, but how it radically gear shifted my brain.

Jesus walked this out for us, but some of us missed that it was possible because of His being God.

But fully God fully man was to show is the blend of the possible, no longer the impossible.

We can be one with God.
We are made one with Him when we accept Him
He is with us, always.

When you start to calm yourself. press into His Word & worship Him, He awakens this presence afresh within, and heightens our awareness of Him.

Anywhere you or I go, He goes.

When the bully hits you with their words.
When the project falls apart.
When a loved one breaks your heart.
When you can breathe under the weight of loss and grief.

The secret place?
Your hiding place?
Your quiet retreat?

He is there with you.

Right now, take a deep breath.
Close your eyes.
Begin to pray.
Claim the verses above.
Tell God of your love.
Ask Him to awaken your senses
to His indwelling Presence.

It doesn’t matter where you are,
it matters Who you are with.

hideaway

Karla Lees

image

No matter where you go, you can never escape God.

He is there.

Psalm 139 is still with me today, reminding me that even if I go as far as the east is from the west, He  is always present.

If I were to go to the deepest depths of the ocean, or I flew to the highest of heights, I could not escape His Presence.

When I try to hide, as Adam & Eve did in the garden, He calls out…. asking where I am.  Not because He doesn’t know, but because He is trying to get me to acknowledge I am hiding.

Hiding from myself leads to trying to his, futile as it may be, from God.

There is only one exception that allows for hiding as a good thing, and that is when danger is imminent….

We all need a safe place to hide from the enemy.

God is that safe place, shelter, refuge.

We can hide in Him, knowing He will keep me even keeled when the waves are rocking my boat.

He keeps my heart full of His love when it is wounded & brokenhearted.

He keeps me peaceful when pain and loss threaten to well up and spill out for all to see.

He keeps His word, never leaving me despite the Judas’ kisses I have been given.

He reminds me who I really am,who He says I am, when the lies of the enemy resonate loudly in the battle.

He is my hiding place.

I made a decision not to hide any longer from God. 

Since He knows me so well, down to every hair & tear, and can see my life from all directions & times (past, present, future, eternal), it really is a waste of time trying to hide from Him.

Its time to hide myself in Him, again…

Every day.
Each moment.
All situations.

Claim your spot next to His Presence, in His arms, close to His heart:

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:7 NIV