Wild Hiding Place of God

There’s a scene from the movie Toy Story 2 when Jessie, the cowgirl, is being asked to go back into a box, darkness, for a temporary amount of time to hide from the evil toy dealers. Fear overtakes her and she says, “No, I can’t go back in the box, back into the darkness.”

Jessie’s background was very different from that of the main character. Woody, a cowboy, only knew a life with an owner, a life outside of his manufacturer’s box, a life where someone loved him. Jessie never had an owner until her world collided with Woody’s. She had been inside a box that was inside a box for many years. She never belonged to anyone and she never knew what it was like to be loved.

There’s a point in the story where the evil toy dealers were trying to sell Woody and Jessie, along with other friends, to a toy museum. In the museum, they would be on display for the rest of their lives never again to have an owner. There was a need for Jessie to go back into a box to hide for a short time so they wouldn’t end up in a museum. That’s when her fear overcame her and she cries out, “No, I can’t go back in the darkness.”

Maybe you find yourself in a similar place today, like that of Jessie’s. Except, it’s not a fictitious story. Rather, a real live fear. There are times when the Lord asks us to trust him and to hide in him, to let him be all we need. If we let our fears dictate our response, it will be “No! I can’t go back into the box.”

Fear torments and distorts the truth of God’s hiding place.

At times the Lord’s direction in our lives feels like a step back, a regression. It feels counter to our natural inclination to keep going. But his whisper to rest, hide, step back, let me prune, let me take care of the overgrowth is trustworthy. God never puts us back in darkness. Yes, he will hide us, we are actually made to live hidden in him. But God’s covering is never a re-enslavement to sin, evil, darkness. It is positively never something to fear. Hiding in him and following his direction is always a step into life and light. That’s who he is, life and light. He can’t lead anywhere else but to himself. He’s faithful like that.

So today, for whoever is having that freakout, panicky feeling like you’re going back into a box that is inside another box — stop. Breathe. Remember who is calling you. Remember who it is that you belong to. Trust God’s leadership. There is life in Jesus’ tombs. There are treasures in his caves. There is a friendship in his secret places. There is a heartbeat in his chambers.

Jessie didn’t have to stay in the box for very long in the story. On a wild adventure, they escape the evil toy dealers and she finds herself in the arms of her owner — squeezed, drooled on, spilled on, loved on until stuffing comes out.

And, as a bonus, the adventure Jessie had in the box was suited just for her. She loves, was created with wild in mind. Think about her character. She would have missed it had she not gone in the box.

You are loved with that type of fierceness. It looks a little different. But adventures with God (your owner) are wild and crazy and safe and life — custom made to the detail. They are bookended with his everlasting love. You belong to God. Wherever he is leading you is trustworthy, it is light and life. There is a deep friendship with Jesus waiting to be forged.