Jesus is a Good Place to Hide

“If anyone is in Christ, she is a new creation.”

2 Corinthians 5.17

Click the image to download & print colouring sheets for reflection.

Sometimes we feel seen. Sometimes we don’t.

Through it all, there is Jesus.

Some time ago I found myself in a really hard phone conversation. Without my knowing it, someone had prepared a list of accusations against me and began to present them during a meeting.

While this was not the plan for this meeting, I knew it was important that I listen and learn. At the same time, I also knew not all of their assessment of me was accurate.

I wanted to be open to what was true. And at the same time, I didn’t want to take on anything that was not aligned with what God says of me.

As I listened, it brought up my worst fears.

I felt desperately alone, totally unseen and unable to answer for myself.

So I said to the Lord, “Can I hide in you? Will you absorb whatever is not for me? And will you let through whatever you do want me to hear?”

Through it all, without even knowing I was doing it, I doodled. A kind of survival mechanism I suppose. I was surprised, after the call, to discover what I’d drawn. If you asked me how I’d felt, I would have described curling in a ball to make myself as small as possible. But on my notepad I found this strong, beautiful, joyful woman, hidden in Jesus. This Jesus is unafraid of pain—he knows it and has overcome it. As we hide in him, he can absorb every dart that comes our way. And at the same time, he knows how to let truth through, to hit the mark and shape us to be more like him. In that knowledge, in him, we are strangely strong.

I like Paul’s language of “in Christ” better than “Christian” (which can sound like a club).

“In Christ” is our identity, the place where we live and move and have our being.

I have a friend who has just spent 2 months in a mental health hospital. She asked for a stack of copies of this image to remind her where she lives. When she forgets, she colours it, taking her time, choosing the colours, filling her lungs as she fills in the shapes. She’s made more copies and gives them out to everyone else in her ward. That makes me smile.

Jesus is a good place to hide.

His assessment of us is true to who we are.

His challenge is kind.

His embrace is not dependent on our perfection.

From his own experience he has learned where true safety is.

In every painful moment, every time we feel unseen, unknown, unwelcome, we can ask Jesus, “Can I hide in you?”