SAFE HANDS

You are my hiding-place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

Like the unravelling of a rope, the threads in Doug’s life were breaking one by one. “My mother had lost her prolonged battle with cancer; a long-term romantic relationship was failing; my finances were depleted; my vocation was foggy. . . . The emotional and spiritual darkness around me and within me was deep and debilitating and seemingly impenetrable,” writes pastor and sculptor Doug Merkey. These collective events, combined with living in a cramped attic, became the setting from which his sculpture The Hiding Place emerged. It depicts Christ’s strong, nail-scarred hands openly cupped together as a place of safety.

Doug explained the design of his artwork this way: The “sculpture is Christ’s invitation to hide in Him.” In Psalm 32, David wrote as one who’d found the ultimate safe place—God Himself. He offers us forgiveness from our sin (vv. 1–5) and encourages us to offer prayer in the midst of challenges (v. 6). In verse 7, the psalmist declares his trust in God: “You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.”

When trouble shows up, where do you turn? How good it is to know that when the fragile cords of our earthly existence begin to unravel, we can run to the God who’s provided eternal safety through the forgiving work of Jesus.

—Arthur Jackson

Heavenly Father, You know the times I’ve sought to piece my life together without You. Help me to turn from my misguided plans for safety and to run swiftly to You.