Coming Into His Love

“Out of Hiding” 

by Steffany Gretzinger 

You're safe here with Me

And I saw it all, still I chose the cross

So many times in life it is easier to hide in the dark with our thoughts than to enter the light and show our hurt and brokenness. We fear rejection from others, or people trying to fix us. It is easier at times to hide and pretend like everything is okay, because being honest with others is sometimes just too hard.

But in hiding from others, we must be careful not to hide from the Lord.

Sometimes hiding from God happens without us even thinking about it. If we are in a painful time, our first response can be to internalize it. If we are rooted in Christ and are looking at pain through His eyes, we can analyze and think through things correctly. The more we get squashed under the weight, though, it can seem easier to hide it from God, as well as others.

This song brought to light in a new way how wrong we are to hide. I love the way this song is written because it is as though Jesus is speaking. That really filled the words with fresh meaning for me and showed me the ways I was hiding. The Bible says: 

“My frame was not hidden for you

 When I was made in the secret place,

 When I was woven together in the

depth of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

 all the days ordained for me were 

written in your book

before one of them came to be.” — Psalm 139:15-16

God knew all the days I would live, all the mistakes I would make, all the pain I would go through before I even took a breath. So why try to hide? God saw it all, and Jesus rescues us from it all.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”— Romans 5:8

“While we were still sinners” Jesus died for us. He wants to know us intimately. That is clearly shown in the cross. He loved us before we messed up, he died and rose for us before we were confronted with the pain of this world. So come out of hiding. You are loved.

Next, I want to look at the easiest ways to hide and give some encouragement for coming out of hiding.

Don’t hide your sin in shame

“Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”— James 4:7

Have you tried to resist and just ended up sinning again? Once again, you did something you know God had asked you not to do. The guilt of failing yet again is real. Even if you are in Christ, shame tries to attack you. I love this quote from a speaker at a retreat I went to. He said:

“Guilt means you have done something wrong, shame is saying that you are wrong.” — Drew van Esselstyn

Guilt is necessary, because without it, you can’t turn from your sin. Shame is not something God desires for you, so don’t hide in shame. God has already seen that sin. Hiding away with it will only make you feel more shame.

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are no longer under the law, but under grace.” —Romans 6:14

You are under grace. God is taking away your shame. If you have been hiding in shame, stop right now and pray. The Bible says:

“The Lords is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.”— Psalm 145:8

Slow to anger and gracious, He will take away your shame. You are not too sinful. He saw all the sin and He still chose to die for you. Accept His graciousness.

Don’t hide your brokenness or pain out of fear

When you face brokenness or pain, it is easy to hide. Pain and brokenness are things not easily shared with other people. Sometimes you can take this too far by hiding your pain fromGod out of fear. The fear of having your wounds and hurt seen is real . This is why we can be so hesitant to share our brokenness with others. You can be afraid it will seep out and hurt others, or someone will judge you because of how you handle something. Part of you wants someone to know, but another part of you wants to keep it wrapped as tight as possible.

A lot of times when you hide your pain and brokenness from God, it is born out of the misconception that he just wants us to be joyful. But God wants to be near you in your pain, help you grow out of it, and remind you of his promises the whole time. The Bible says:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

  and saves those who are crushed in

spirit.”— Psalm 34:18

He is close to you. That verse does not say he fixes the hurt, yet he is still close to you. This quote by Katie Majors is a beautiful picture of what God does in hurt.

“His love wrapped around me like a warm embrace. He didn’t take away the pain; he held me while I hurt.”— Daring to Hope by Katie Davis, page 77

Isn’t that what we want in a time of pain and brokenness? Not for it to magically go away, but to be held through it? That is what God gives: He holds you in your pain. Come out of hiding and into His closeness. Do not be afraid of God’s love amid the hurt. He will care for you in a way on one else can.

“He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.”— Psalm 147:3

Don’t be afraid of entering God’s comfort and graciousness. He loves you more than you can ever imagine. Come out of hiding and into His love. Jesus loved you enough to die for you. He is the person you are running towards.