Oh, those old hymns that remind us of God’s faithfulness! Yes, I know them, and I may seem dated in a time when our worship is mostly comprised of contemporary songs, but growing up with those messages set to music, caused faith to rise up in me.

Can I get a witness?

What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Only Trust Him and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms are some of my favorites. But, the one that comes to mind today is:

He Hideth My Soul.

Wow, even spell check does not want me to say, hideth. So, we will put the modern day spin on it and just say, “hides.”

I am intrigued by the lines, “He hides my soul in the cleft of a rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hides my life in the depths of His love and covers me there with His hand.” I tried to envision the cleft which is just the split or divided place in a rock.

In reading Exodus 33, we find that Moses did not want to go anywhere without the presence of the Lord and asked that the Lord show him His glorious presence. Like Moses, we also want that confirmation that the Lord is with us, and I believe He often responds to us today just as He did to Moses. Let me explain.

Last August, my 82-year-old mom, who is as cute as a bug and full of life, called me three times in one day, each time telling me that she had two horses in her pasture that did not belong to her. She was concerned they might trample her soybean crop, so she wanted them gone.

Being proactive, she talked to several of the country neighbors all of which said they did not know where the horses belonged.

So…………she hoisted herself up in my dad’s truck and drove about a mile around the section to see if the horses belonged to a neighbor whose land is adjacent to hers.

As Mom knocked on the neighbor’s door, their pit bull busted through the storm door knocking her to the ground. That dog proceeded to maul her until its owner got it under control. In an instant…..just while trying to be neighborly…..her life changed.

The ambulance was called and there was a look of terror on her face as the paramedics loaded her and assessed the injuries. She was taken to a hospital where three doctors stitched on her for hours because of all of the puncture wounds.

She also had a broken left forearm, a crumbled right index finger, a major laceration on her right ankle and the fatty part of her right forearm was just gone. In the first few days, she had two surgeries to repair the breaks and was hooked up to a wound vac to aid in closing the gaping hole in her arm.

After staying in the hospital for a week, and in-house physical therapy for three weeks, she came home to my house for an additional five weeks to recover. This was and still is a healing in progress.

Mom has maintained a wonderful attitude and is quick to tell everyone that the many answered prayers of family and friends made a difference.

So? What in the world does that have to do with hiding us in the cleft of a rock and covering us with His hand?

During this hard time, we look back and see how the Lord worked on her behalf.

First of all, Mom had the wherewithal to call her granddaughter to come to her aid immediately. The fact that she had her phone and answered was amazing. Secondly, my son who is a paramedic in another city should have been on duty at the fire station that day, but had traded shifts, so he was home and could ride in the ambulance with her. His presence gave her peace.

And then one night while she was in rehab and alone in her room praying because of night terrors, a physical therapist came in and started speaking scripture over her and gave her encouragement. So many of her faith-filled words have come to pass. Mom told us the next day that an angel had come to see her. This therapist was on a mission to remind Mom that the Lord was with her.

Looking back, there were so many things that happened that only God could have orchestrated.

There is not enough room in this post to recount them all, but I know, and she knows, and we all know that the Lord has cared for her along this journey.

This is the good part. Let’s go back to Exodus 33. In verse 18, Moses asked the Lord to show him His glorious presence. His response is in part of these verses: Exodus 33:20-23, “You may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

Awe….

SOMETIMES WE MIGHT NOT SENSE GOD’S PRESENCE IN THE MOMENT BUT WE CAN LOOK BACK AND SEE WHERE HE HAS BEEN!

His footprints are all over my mom’s recovery and healing!

Perhaps even the shadow of darkness we experience during a tough situation is indeed His hand covering us while He is very much at work.

It has been six months since that August evening, and most of Mom’s wounds have healed. She is still doing physical therapy to regain use of her right hand. Yes, we wish this never would have happened, but we are so thankful to just have her as she pours so much into our lives.

I am hoping that you can take a look back and see where God has been and be encouraged that He is in every single moment. He is interested in us knowing Him, not just as Savior, but as Lord of all.