32:7 Girl, Part 3
by Paulette Stamper
If you are just joining me for the 32:7 girl series, you may want to catch up on parts One and Two.
I love the thought of God's daughters advancing against the kingdom of darkness as we embrace our identity as Psalm 32:7 girls. When we hide in God, we become courageous, and there's no shrinking back when we are courageous. Let's not stop there, though – there's more to the verse:
You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7).
Protect means to draw close. Remember the analogy of the little girl hiding behind her dad? Now imagine her father reaching around and putting his hand on her back, pulling her close to assure her she is safe and secure—what a sweet picture of us with our Heavenly Father.
You will protect me from trouble…
If you have been a follower of Jesus for more than five minutes, then you know this verse doesn't mean you won’t have difficulties or sufferings in life. Jesus was pretty clear when He said, "In this world you will have trouble…" (John 16:33), so a definition of the word trouble will be helpful.
In Ps. 32:7 it can mean "adversary," which makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Isn't all of Scripture clear that God protects those who belong to Him from the enemy? Jesus also told us not to fear those who can kill the body but can't kill the soul (Matthew 10:28). So even though the enemy comes after us (check out 1 Peter 5:8 as one example), we become downright audacious when we know we are protected.
In the space we have, let's look at some highlights and discover how Elijah hid in God and became courageous, was protected by God, and became audacious. (Space won't allow me to discuss every detail like I want to, so you're going to want to read it and discover it for yourself.)
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah tells the wicked King Ahab that there will be no rain for the next three years. Then the Lord told him to go HIDE in the Kerith Ravine, and the Lord sent ravens to feed him, and he drank water from the brook. (Side note: you may recall from the previous posts the Participation Principle. God promised to feed Elijah, and for Elijah to experience God's promise, he had to participate. In other words, he had to actually go to the Kerith Ravine. Makes me wonder, how much trouble would we save ourselves if we simply did what the Lord was telling us to do??) When the brook dried up, the Lord sent Elijah to a widow and miraculously fed her, her son, and Elijah by providing a never-ending supply of flour and oil. Elijah's time by the brook and time with the widow are examples of hiding in God. God was his hiding place. He experienced God's provision and power, and his trust in the Lord and His Word grew as a result. It's easy to see that Elijah developed courage while hiding. It's important to note that the ONLY way our courage will increase is when we hide in God. If we hide anywhere else, our courage diminishes, and our fear grows instead. So only hiding in God actually makes us more courageous!
Elijah emerged from his time in hiding with tremendous courage, and he knew that when the Lord sent him to confront the wicked king and the prophets of Baal that the Lord would protect him – and that gave him the audacity to confront them – and man, did he ever confront them. It was quite the showdown!
In 1 Kings 18, we read that Elijah courageously and audaciously called for the people of Israel, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah to meet him on Mount Carmel. There Elijah took center stage as he called out to the people:
"How long will you waver between two opinions? If God is God, then follow him. If Baal is god, then follow him."
The word "waver" means to limp. Many Israelites were “limping” back and forth between the temple of God and the temple of Baal. In other words, they refused to take a stand for one or the other. It took some serious audacity for Elijah to look them in the face and challenge them to take a stand for the one true God.
Allow me a moment to pause and holler.
Hey, daughter of God! Stand up and be the voice of Elijah in this generation! We need bold, courageous women with some straight-up audacity to call out to those in the church who waver between the gods of this world and the God of heaven! This is no time to limp! So let's run the race the Lord has marked out for us – without fear and without hesitancy!
Now would be an excellent time to reach for your Bible and read the account for yourself in 1 Kings 18. No doubt you will grin at the level of audacity Elijah displayed. All I can say is, he obviously knew that he had the protection of the God in heaven to taunt the false prophets in the way he did. Y'all. We serve the same God as Elijah. WE DO NOT NEED TO FEAR THE ENEMY. Remember:
God is my hiding place. He will protect me from trouble.
Are you hiding in God and not from Him? Then you can know with certainty that you are protected from the enemy – so take a stand and show some courage and audacity!
When we hide in God, He makes us courageous.
When we know we are protected by God, He makes us audacious.
When we are courageous and audacious – the Lord sends His fire from heaven and consumes our offering as a mighty display of His power. I don't know about you, but I have a longing to see God's revival fire fall on our churches and our nation like never before. Do you? Then it’s time to show some courage and audacity like Elijah. What are you waiting for?
