May 6, 2008...3:54 am
Hide and Seek, Finding the Greatest Hiding Place
by Sarah Mattioli
When I was a child, one of my favorite games to play was Hiding Place. To play this game, all that I needed was a blanket or covering of some kind and a wild, vivid imagination. I would playfully put the covers over my head and put my arms or feet up to make the space bigger while pretending I was having the time of my life. I would laugh and shout like I was at the most bumpin’ party of the year. One of my favorite things about this game was that I was able to play alone or with my siblings or friends. If others were around, I would start off in my little shelter by myself and eventually let everyone else in. Whoever was within hearing range of my elaborate celebratory noises wanted to join me in my shelter. Now, as an adult, I still make time to run away to my hiding place to spend time with my Jesus. Like my childhood game, I still let others in only after I have spent some quality time alone with the Lord.
King David, in the scriptures, used words such as refuge, shelter, hiding place, shield, tower, and fortress to describe the Lord. I believe David, in times of distress, found the Lord to be a hiding place both spiritually and physically. In Psalm 32:7, he says, “You are a hiding place for me; You Lord preserve me from trouble. You fill my heart with songs and shouts of deliverance.” I can picture David running for his life from Saul’s army, crying out to the Lord his God for help. At times, the Lord’s answer came in the form of providing him shelter and leading him to places where he was hidden from enemy eyes. I often hum this song or meditate on this passage when I feel uncomfortable. The most common time I use it is when men are checking me out in a way that makes me feel like I want to be invisible. My God loves to show up and hide me in the shadow of His glorious wings when I need it, whether in distress or even at times when I am content.
The Lord was a physical shield for me years ago when I had no escape. I was locked in a psychiatric ward of a hospital years ago when I needed to rely on this passage or be beaten up by a disturbed man. I walked up to a group of patients hanging out in a room that was out of view from the nurses’ station when I saw an unjust sight. My roommate was a young girl who had never been in a place like this before. As I walked over to the group, I noticed that she was tightly clenching her eyes shut with a look of disgust on her face as another male patient grabbed at her while kissing her cheek. When I asked her if she wanted him kissing her, she let out a soft “no.” “Then stop it!”, I yelled at the man. He became enraged and started to charge at me with hate in his eyes and obscenities coming out of his mouth. Instead of fighting back, as he was much bigger than I was and I no longer used violence to defend myself, I threw my arms up to cover my face and started to pray in tongues in the name of Jesus. With his eyes raging, he tried to hit and kick me but could not touch me.
The best way I can describe it is that it was as if I had an invisible force field up right between this man and me. After he tried screaming as he pounded the air, suddenly, it was as if the fear of the Lord came upon him and he backed away. I think he was confused by the event and yet the evil forces driving him realized that I was the real deal. Saved by my shield and strong tower, Jesus! Colossions 3:3 says it like this, ” For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus himself walked through the middle of an angry mob who wanted to throw him off of a cliff. The Holy Spirit made him invisible and untouchable, confusing His enemies because it was not yet His time.
Hide and seek is another classic game that I still find joy in playing in my late twenties. My best hiding place when I was young was a cabinet across from the bathroom. It had a small shelf that was hidden high above the other shelves. As a child, I was small enough to squeeze into it and because I loved to climb, it was a fun place to hide. The first time I discovered this spot, no one could find me! I had to come out and reveal where I was because it was such a secret and unlikely place. Hide and seek was originally Papa God’s game. He speaks of it in Jeremiah 29:1: “For I know the thoughts I have for you says Adonai the Lord, plans of good and not of evil; to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go to pray to Me and I will listen to you. When you seek Me, you will find Me when you search with all your heart.”
Searching for the Lord with all of my heart has lead me to find Him at WYSIWYG in the beautiful city of San Francisco. I have found Him in the children I care for and in every staff, or I should say family, member I have been blessed to work with. I have found Him hiking up the hills of San Francisco to watch the sunset. I find Him before I even begin the hike up the hill, during the climb up as I push myself to get all the way to the top, and again when I get to rest at the top enjoying His messages to me in His creation. No one can find me like the Holy Spirit can when I’m hiding from people or situations. Praise Papa that He is the best hiding place when I am surrounded by enemies. God is so fun that even when I am hiding in Him, I find more of His goodness in the hiding place! There really is no one like our God in the heavens or on the earth.
Sarah Mattioli is a new intern with Christian WYSIWYG Filmworks and is now working in childcare.
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