hideaway:  a place of concealment; an isolated retreat.

Do you have a hideaway, a place to  retreat when you need a boost? When was the last time you enjoyed quietness?

 The world is fast, communication is worldwide and constant.  Traffic never stops, stores never close.   Cell phones make us available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. We feel we have to be all things to all people  all the time. Life gets faster.   It’s easy to believe God was speaking to the year 2007  when He said, *“Be still and know that I am God.”  But then Amy Carmichael, in her generation, must have felt the same way when she said, “I think there is no command in the whole Bible so difficult to obey and so penetrating in power, as the command to be still.”

When we stop to think about  all the conveniences  of the day,  it is easy to ask, “Where does my time go?” The web makes it extremely convenient  to shop, research, send email,  go to college. More and more of us eat out, limiting the time spent preparing food.  Cells phones are at our fingertips to use constantly rather than waiting until we get home to tie up time.

We have to consider the thought that our lack of “still” time may be a choice we are making.   But do we stop to  consider this lack of quiet time has a down side?   When storms come into our life and they do eventually, we struggle to stay afloat. The time spent with God strengthens us for these times.

The book of Matthew tells of a time when Jesus and his disciples were on the Sea of Galilee.  A storm  came up and terrible waves rocked their boat.   While the disciples were horrified, Jesus slept.  We wonder how he could sleep in a life threatening situation.  Just like the disciples, we sometimes forget that the God who "allows" our storms is in the conflict with us.  He is aware of our rocking boat.  He is aware of the wind gusts.   God tells us to be still for a reason.  The rest of the verse says, “and know that I am God.”  When we get to “know” Him, we find that He is interested in every detail of our lives.  He wants us to feel safe in His care. Most of all, He wants us to claim  Him as Father.   But He never pushes Himself on anyone.  Max Lacado says, in A Gentle Thunder,  

    “ If there are a thousand steps between us and Him, He will take all but one.   But He will leave the final one to us.  The choice is ours.”

I am glad I know Him personally and when I make a few minutes to be still, I  find Him waiting for me.  In the quiet moments of the early morning or in the slower moments of the late evening, He gives me strength to face challenges.  He assures me He is my hideaway.