Psalm 32:6-7

Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you,
while you may be found;
Surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
You will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance. (NIV) *

In the previous stanza of this psalm, David has just received the marvellous dam-busting forgiveness of God. Can you hear the excitement still ringing in David’s voice? He has just experienced a wonderful release from a load of guilt. But now in his next breath he has some advice for us, and here it is. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you, while you may be found.

We are to pray to God while He may be found. This raises some interesting questions. Is God unavailable at times? If God cannot be found, is He hiding? Furthermore, if God is hiding, where does He hide?

At this point I feel like jumping to my feet, like a lawyer in the court of reason, and shouting out, “I object! All that David has told us about God so far would lead us to believe that God is always close at hand. Didn’t David testify to this earlier in Psalm twenty-three? He said the following words about the LORD his shepherd: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. And now it seems David is telling us that there are times when God cannot be found. Which is it David? It can’t be both.”

Ah, but it is both. This is one of those great divine paradoxes. The God, who is near, even in my heart, can also be distant—light years away, both in time and place. There exists a perceived distance between us that can vary according to the state of my heart—that is according to the state of my relationship with God.

The fact remains that we cannot see God. We can see evidence of His handiwork all around us. Our infinitely complex human bodies and finely tuned senses are themselves proof of His existence, yet Him we cannot see. He is a hidden God, and when we walk beside Him, we walk by faith and not by sight.

Repeatedly in the scriptures we are commanded to seek after the LORD. I find this to be a rather curious expression. We cannot see God, and yet we are commanded to seek Him, as though He might suddenly appear over the next hill, or around the next bend in the road. Suddenly, in unexpected ways, we may encounter God. In reality the Psalms are all about encounters with God. Psalm nineteen began that way. Suddenly the starry hosts began talking to David about God, declaring His glory. We may pick up the Bible, and suddenly it speaks to our deepest need—the need of the moment, and we know that this is the voice of God with a word specifically for us today.

Even the ungodly people of this world recognize that people encounter God. They use expressions like, “He found God,” to describe someone’s conversion to faith in Christ.

As a young lad growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan, I had a very frightening experience that left me totally baffled for several days. I was about eleven years old at the time, and my younger brother, who always accompanied me, was about nine. During our summer vacation we loved to tramp about the wooded pastureland that surrounded our farm home. In the far corner of the pasture, we found a secluded spot, where we chopped down a few saplings and set up a makeshift tent.

My dog, Champ, always tagged along on these excursions. On one of these outings, while we were relaxing by our tent, Champ went totally berserk. He began barking frantically. He ran in tight circles around us. Every hair on his back stood erect. He was totally panicked.

We looked about to see what had set the dog into such a sudden frenzy but could see nothing. But his urgent alarm grew even more intense. The dog was completely beside himself with fear as he continued to run circles around us. Each frantic bark urged us out of there. I picked up the axe and together we ran for our lives. From what we ran, my brother and I could only guess. Was it some large wild animal? A malicious human intruder? I had never seen my dog react this way to anything or anyone.

We reported this event to our parents, who listened with interest, but they could offer no further insight, except to say that it was wise to heed Champ’s warning and leave. We were spooked by this happening, and for well over a week we did not return to our favourite spot.

Finally, we took courage and on a sunny summer afternoon, we set out for our secluded campsite once again. Of course, Champ tagged along with us. All went well until we were very near our destination. As we emerged into an open grassy area, Champ suddenly went ballistic. But this time I clearly saw the cause of his alarm. There a short distance ahead, a huge tawny cat—a cougar—reared up and bounded off into the woods.

We froze in our tracks. We were shaken to the core. But now we knew what was out there. On that earlier occasion, only my faithful dog stood between us and that powerful predator. Without his fierce protection, two prairie boys may well have become a hungry cougar’s lunch and supper.

In a peculiar way, an unexpected encounter with the living God can be a lot like an encounter with a cougar. Suddenly, we realize our every move has been studied and watched; we are not alone. And that other being out there, watching us, is much bigger and more powerful than we are. Are you really prepared to meet Him around the next curve in the road, or just over the next hill?

Sometimes I think we seriously underestimate the fear factor when we speak of God with those who do not know Him. They are not prepared to meet Him, and the very thought of meeting Him should send them into bouts of soul-cleansing terror. The writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds us that “it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). In many instances, I believe intuitively, the ungodly understand this truth better than believers do. When was the last time you heard a soul-stirring message on the fear of the LORD? We prefer our God to be soft and cuddly, so we have defanged and de-clawed the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We have relegated the God of fearful judgment to those unread pages of the Old Testament. Surely, we reason that God has reformed His ways.

But my God is still an awesome God. I have carefully avoided the use of the word awesome to describe the Almighty up to this point. I have avoided the word because it is over used and has lost its power. In its original form the word awesome connotes a confrontation—an encounter—with knee-buckling, soul-arresting, pant-wetting consequences. Awesome? Our God is not awesome. He is uber-awesome. No human language can begin to capture the vast and fearful awesomeness of this holy God.

Yet, it is this fear-inducing God that we are to seek. Why seek after a lesser god? We are commanded to search for Him, while He may be found. But why would we want to find this God, a God of holiness and judgment? How can we even coexist with this uber-awesome God?

We must seek and find Him so that we can be forgiven. That is the only way that we can cohabit the same neck of the woods. And remember that though this God is hidden, He always knows our exact whereabouts, and He can pounce upon us in love or in judgment at any moment He chooses. David knew he needed to find Him so that he could be forgiven. I need His forgiveness too. I need this all-powerful, holy God on my side. I do not want to meet Him in judgment around the next bend. But rather I need to find God so that I can be reconciled to Him. Then I will discover that this hidden God is working behind the scenes on my behalf.

In 1 Chronicles we read of David celebrated the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, by teaching Asaph and his priestly associates a psalm. In that psalm David calls on the people of Israel to “look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. (1 Chronicles 16:11).

When in humility I call out to the strong One, and find Him, I want His strength working with me, in me and on my behalf.

About five hundred years after David taught the words to the above-mentioned Psalm, the idolatrous people of Judah went into exile. After a long siege Jerusalem was sacked and burned. The temple of the LORD was destroyed. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was charged with delivering God’s stark message of judgment to the people of that time.

What I find most remarkable about this grievous time of judgment is God’s command to Jeremiah. He is ordered by the LORD not to pray for the people of his homeland, “Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress” (Jeremiah 11:14).

In effect, God was saying that this was one of those times when He would be hidden from His people. He would not hear their prayers. They may seek after the LORD, but He would not be found. Though they cry out, the heavens would be as brass. Though I wish it were otherwise, there are times when God simply cannot be found. We read the word of God, and it is as dry and palatable as sawdust on our tongue. Our prayers fall to the ground lifeless like so much deadwood, and though we wait, no answer comes.

Fortunately seasons change. The cold winter of the soul does not last forever. Later, speaking of a time yet to come, Jeremiah reports, “Then you will call upon me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity” (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

The lesson we can draw from all this is that we should never presume that God is standing by to do our beckoning. He reveals himself to us when, and as He sees fit. One believer may hear the audible voice of God, while another can hear of God only through someone else. To one believer God’s word is a feast of unmatched proportions, while another may struggle to glean even a single kernel from His word. One believer hears the wondrous love of God being trumpeted straight into his heart; another questions if God even cares. Strangely, on the road of life, the above-mentioned believers may find their roles completely reversed tomorrow. He, who was so full of faith, may find himself racked with doubt. He, who was so close, may find himself estranged.

If we have seen His face today, we cannot presume the hidden God will be showing us His face tomorrow. We must rejoice in what He has revealed of Himself today and holdfast, for we do not know what tomorrow brings.

So then let’s heed David as he admonishes us, “Let everyone who is godly pray to you, while you may be found.” 

If we have found the LORD, been forgiven by Him, and reconciled to Him, then we can build our lives on that rock, which is Christ. We can experience the security of the next statement that David makes in this Psalm. Surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

The Rock, which is Christ, stands above all else. There is no higher ground. He towers above the storms of life, immovable and secure. Surely, Jesus had this very passage in mind when he told the parable of the wise and foolish builders, as found in Matthew chapter seven. If we put Christ’s teaching into practice, we have a foundation set upon that high Rock. Though the storm winds blow, the rains beat down and the flood streams rise, they will not reach Him. And the destructive force of the mighty waters will not reach us either, if our life is built on Him.

At times of catastrophe, we can find rest in this hiding place. Noah knew that hiding place, during the greatest calamity to hit this planet. He also built his house, the ark, upon the Rock. When the rains began, it was the LORD who closed the door shutting him in. While all outside perished, Noah and his family were hidden in God. 

In the greatest storm to hit Europe during the twentieth century, a young Dutch woman found a hiding place in God. While Nazi terror reigned, Corrie ten Boom found refuge in the words of this psalm. Amid the horror of the concentration camp, she found a secret place, a hiding place secure from the raging storm.[1] 

The LORD becomes our hiding place. Take a moment to imagine that. The uber-awesome, hidden God becomes our hiding place. I am tucked snugly between the paws of the great and fearsome Lion of the Tribe of Judah. None can harm me there. No cougar, no wild beast, no human scheme, no demon from hell, can snatch me from between those fearsome, gentle paws. And while the storm rages, while the demons gnash their teeth, while kingdoms fall, I can hear the Lion’s purr. He is protecting me from trouble. He is surrounding me with songs of deliverance.

[1] The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom, Random House Inc., 1982, paperback.

Bringing Life to the Psalms

1. Have you read any of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis? Aslan, the great lion in the series, represents Christ, our redeeming king. Consider reading, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or you can rent the movie. Be prepared for a blessing as you draw the links between this children’s story and the great truths of the Gospel message
2. What are you doing to seek God? This week take special note of how God reveals Himself to you. Watch for Him. If we are not careful, we can miss the ways He manifests His presence in our lives. A journal can be helpful way to record these events.
3. We all need a shelter from the storms of life. Are you going through a difficult time right now? Throw yourself into the arms of Jesus. He knows how to shelter you.
4. The God we seek also revealed Himself as the Saviour—the predator God—who actively seeks us. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Take a moment to read the account of how Jesus pounced on Zacchaeus the tree-sitting tax collector. Jesus is a hunter—hunting sinners that he might save them. Read Luke 19:1-10 to catch a glimpse of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah on the prowl.
5. There is something quite unnatural about humans seeking after God. C.S. Lewis said it was like the mouse seeking the cat. How is seeking God unnatural though we are commanded to do it?

Today’s post is the seventh chapter from the book Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven & Earth by David Kitz. To find out more or purchase click here.