Our Hiding Place

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the movie ‘The Hiding Place’. It is the story of a Dutch family, the Ten Booms who saved thousands of Jews during the German occupation by hiding them in a secret room they called ‘The Hiding place’. Eventually they were found out and the whole family was divided up and sent to concentration camps.

The sisters, Corrie and Betsy were sent to Ravensbruck. They saw unimaginable atrocities and suffered immensely. Of the whole family, only Corrie survived; And this due to a clerical error. She was released and made her way to freedom. Corrie despite her faith, became hardened with hate and feeling abandoned and forsaken. But her sister Betsy even though dying, fostered hope and love in the middle of the camp. We live in the most prosperous and safe country in the world. Perhaps in all of recorded history. Yet, why is it that we still feel like Corrie sometimes? We can feel forsaken, all alone. Many feel like people and God have abandoned them.

Psalm 22 is a sure help for those feeling forsaken. It has been called “The Psalm of The Cross”. This Psalm tells you that: Even When You Feel Forsaken, God Cares For You! But, to receive this care I must: Remember – God Has Redeemed Me. See verse 1.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

These words haunt our spirits don’t they? These are the words of Jesus on the cross in Matt. 27:46. The physical agony. The emotional anguish, the pain. The spiritual separation of Jesus from our Heavenly Father for the first and only time. Then the idea of God’s faithfulness comes. See verse 4

4 In you our ancestors put their trust;they trusted and you delivered them.

We see here the character of God being remembered. Jesus himself remembering that God is good. He has delivered and redeemed His people, and now He will deliver and redeem me. Jesus remembers on the cross, that our Heavenly Father saved His people Israel by redeeming them and delivering them out of Egyptian captivity. Isn’t that what this Psalm and Jesus are both saying? Remember, for God has redeemed you.

This holy, righteous God, forgave and adopted a rebellious and wicked people. He loved us enough to sacrifice His Son Jesus for our sins. Jesus agreed. He loved us and gave himself for us. That is true love! But yet many feel forsaken by God. Like Corrie Ten Boom in Ravensbruck. It seems we feel forsaken in 3 ways.

1. Alone – We feel alone in relationships. Like no one understands us. Or we were rejected and abandoned by a spouse, loved one or business partner. Then, we feel like God has abandoned us. He, like everyone else has left us alone… Yet Hebrews reminds us that God will never leave us nor forsake us. We must remember that God’s Spirit lives in us, so we are never alone. He is our ‘ever present help in trouble’.

2. Crushed – We feel crushed by trials and temptations. Our troubles are great. We feel like there is too much for us to handle, so God has stopped limiting the attack of the evil one. But, Jesus says in John 16:33 “In this world you will have tribulation, but do not fear, for I have overcome the world”. Jesus was forsaken by God and triumphed by his death, burial and resurrection. The grave couldn’t hold him, hell couldn’t contain him. He has triumphed, and God will enable us to triumph in our trials too! Like Chris Tomlin in the song “Angel Armies- Who Will I fear”. I know who stands before me, I know who stands behind, The God of angel armies, Is always by my side. 

3. Unpardonable – Some feel that they have committed the unpardonable sin. Like God couldn’t possible forgive them. You may feel, ashamed of some sin, feel dirty, like a cheater, or ended your pregnancy early, you may have same sex attraction. All of these make you feel like God can’t forgive you. But, it isn’t true. God has forgiven all our sins. Psalm 103 “as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” And Hebrews 10 says that “our sins and lawless acts He will remember no more.”

So, there is no reason to feel forsaken. We must remember that God has redeemed us. That Christ was forsaken for us, so we would never have to be! Yet God didn’t send Jesus to die and be forsaken just to forgive our sins though. He made us sons and daughters with his own spirit living in us so that we can commune with him and have relationship with him. To know his loving presence forever.

Jesus is our hiding place!