Psalm 81:7

"You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah." Psalm 81:7

It's scary! It's a disease that most men have. It seldom seems to strike women, and little children are totally immune to the infection. The disease is known by its scientific name,

"Honeyicantseemtofinditanywhere."

Women, you know what I mean. I can put something down and return to pick it up in ten minutes - and it is gone. After careful non-scientific analysis and observation, I have come to the conclusion that what I am looking for is not what I see. I may be looking for my wallet - black, flat, about 3-4 inches square. But, if I have placed my wallet on the nightstand and it slides off an item there and lands - in plain sight - on its side on the nightstand top, I can't find it. It is there, totally visible, but I am looking for a flat, black, square not a black item about 3-4 inches LONG and a half inch thick! Carmel walks in after my frantic, fifteen-minute search and finds it in ten seconds. How does she do that?

Sherlock Holmes, in one of his masterful mysteries, finds a stolen letter that has eluded the meticulous and repeated searching of Scotland Yard - and he does it in one short visit to the perpetrator's home. That's right. It was hidden in plain sight. The obvious is often overlooked.

Asaph, in today's verse, tells us that God sometimes hides us in a place we will never recognize: "in the secret place of thunder..." In a different Daily Word, I discussed the way God hides us FROM the storm. Today we see that we can be hidden IN the storm.

"That's crazy!" I can hear you already. "Why would God hide us in the middle of the storm? I need protection from it and God puts me IN it?"

Can you think of a better place to hide? Who in his right mind would hide from the storm IN the storm? Oh, but God has a purpose. He uses the storm to make us strong. When we are vulnerable, we learn to trust the Father. That total trust, that total confidence in the Father is something that will serve us well in coming adventures. But that trust is not learned in the comfort of our living rooms. We don't develop it in the pew on Sunday morning. We will never grasp this gift if we are always in our "comfort zone". No, we learn trust when we have no other choice - in the storm.

Asaph continues by telling us that God tests us "at the waters of Meribah." Meribah means "place of strife". In that place where trouble seems to be all around us, God proved us, He tried us, He strengthened us. You see; God never promised us a life of ease and luxury. What He did promise is that He would "be with us always." When we are in the midst of great trials and tribulations, instead of asking God to deliver us, we should ask the Father to teach us and make us strong! He gives us refuge in the storm for that very reason. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.