The Man the Moment Demandsनमुना

HIDING IN GOD

One of my close friends once called me with a deep sense of concern. Out of nowhere, he had been engulfed by an intense surge of anger. The grip on his steering wheel had become so fierce that his fingernails left imprints on his own palms. On the surface, my friend is the happiest person you could ever meet. But beneath his smile was a man grappling with past trauma and intense stress.

He told me he had broken down crying in front of his wife—a first for him.

“What’s wrong, babe?” she had asked him.

His response is all too familiar for many men: “I’m tired.”

When men say we’re tired, it typically doesn’t mean we need sleep. It means we need rest. Rest from being misunderstood. Rest from feeling like a failure. Rest from having to be strong for everyone. Rest from trying to hide from pain rather than receive the love and healing God has for us.

When I speak at youth events, I often observe boys slouching in their chairs with their hoods pulled over their faces. I refer to the hoodie in those places as a “portable cave,” a shield to protect themselves from struggles such as depression, abandonment, and shame. When I come alongside to let them know that their choice to wear hoodies indoors may be a way of coping with inner pain, they often respond by sitting up and gradually removing their hoods, revealing a willingness to confront their emotions.

How many of us wear portable caves, trying to hide from our pain and take refuge from the world? Don’t feel ashamed if you are one of these men. I used to try to conceal my true feelings too.

But God calls us to bring our pain to Him, just as Jesus brought His pain to God in the Garden of Gethsemane. (See Matthew 26:36-38.) And when we feel like hiding, God calls us to hide in Him. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge.” Psalm 27:5 tells us that God hides us “in the secret place.” When you bring yourself to God, you can truly rest.

In what areas of your life do you need rest today? When do you most feel like hiding? What would it look like to “hide” in God?