“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”
Psalm 27:5 NIV
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””
Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
“This is my resting place forever,” he said. “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
Psalms 132:14 NLT
I’m sure every woman can relate to wanting to feel safe. That desire to feel secure and protected is in us all. God designed us to need a safe place for us emotionally, physically and spiritually which traditionally comes in form of a husband or father. The masculine strength and stability that they exhibit is what we yearn for as women because in essence it is what we were created to desire.
But of course men aren’t perfect and so they let you down to some degree, whether it be in their failure to not judge you when you share your deepest secrets or when they won't comfort you when you are feeling your lowest. Some men might even shy away from you when you are expressing intense emotion or push you away instead of tightly embracing you. Often some men, may not have the capacity to handle that raw emotion because they were never to taught to. It might be foreign and a bit scary to them.
From my experience with my dad, he wasn’t suited to handle my feelings especially when he knew he was the cause of my instability. Maybe he felt guilty and that’s why he hated when my siblings I or expressing our hurt. Most of the time he would criticize me for crying about something or look at me with contempt. As a result, I hid my feelings from my dad when I was around him. I grew up thinking something was wrong with me. I thought maybe I was too sensitive. I actually began to feel guilty for expressing any type of sadness or disappointment. It never occurred to me how strange that was, because you would think that your dad would comfort you and wipe your tears away. Looking back, I was deeply hurt because I was rejected in my most vulnerable position. Oh how I craved for a masculine warm embrace! The need to feel safe emotionally, physically and spiritually is a deep legitimate need. But since people aren’t perfect, the only one who can perfectly satisfy this yearning is God because He is the Perfect one!
I came to know God as my safe place! In His Word and through experiencing Him, He did not criticize or push me away when I was hurting, in fact, He welcomed it! His Word says, “Come to me all who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” I was able to spill out all of the pain before Him in prayer and immediately I felt His presence. I felt His warm embrace that I desired so badly! His Word, says that “He draws nigh to the broken-hearted”, which is total opposite of what I experienced with my dad.
Time and time again I run to Lord in prayer and tell him everything, my faults, my desires and my pains. I get completely vulnerable with God. I do this confidently, boldly because I know His love will cover me. Meaning, His love will protect, hide and erase my flaws! I don’t have to hide myself from God, instead, I hide myself in God! He is my hiding place. He looks past my faults and sees my needs! He picks up the broken pieces and makes me whole again! Let me tell you, in the Lord’s presence there is rest and safety!
I realized that God is bigger and stronger than anything that I face! God is not a coward like some men and He can handle everything that life throws at me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness and I don’t have to be ashamed of my weaknesses with God. I can trust God completely with my heart knowing that He won’t hurt me but heal me. God is my safe place!
If you have experience similar things or feeling unsafe in any area of your life, make the Lord your safe place today! I promise you He won’t fail you and He will give you rest!