When the World Feels Unsafe: We Don't Need to Hide — We Need to Be Hidden

In the midst of all that is happening in our world — the pain, injustice, and moral unraveling — I find myself continuously asking the Lord to help me understand how to hold on to hope. Each day seems to bring unsettling news: wars abroad, unrest at home, leaders drunk on power, the vulnerable being mistreated, the faithful being mocked, and basic structures of life being shaken. We are all trying to breathe through waves of uncertainty, injustice, and fatigue.

Yet the Spirit of the Lord keeps reminding me: our lives are hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3 (NIV) says, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

For years, I thought of that “hiding” as God’s way of sheltering us from harm. But the Spirit is showing me something greater: this hiding is not about fear or concealment — it’s about transformation.

To be hidden in Christ means that I have exchanged my identity for His; I am no longer defined by self, culture, or circumstance, but by the life of Christ living through me. As Galatians 2:20 declares, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

This is the true “covering.” It is not only a physical barrier that keeps trouble away but a spiritual union that keeps our souls anchored and our hearts aligned with Heaven.

When we put on Christ, we step beneath a divine protection that no earthly power can breach. But this protection is not automatic — it’s a daily decision.

That’s why Ephesians 4:22‑24 instructs us:

“Put off the former way of life, the old self, which is corrupt through deceitful desires… and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Notice the action verbs: put off and put on. God won’t do this part for us. He invites but never forces. We choose whether to wear the garments of our old nature — fear, anger, offense, self‑will — or to clothe ourselves in the new man of Christ — love, mercy, truth, and faith. That intentional obedience is the act of hiding in Him.

A Living Illustration

When my father underwent a heart transplant, he shared an experience so sacred that he struggled to find words for it. After his old heart was removed, he found himself in what he could only describe as another realm — a place bathed in a holiness too great to comprehend.

He said he could feel the presence of a Being whose power was so vast and pure that it made him tremble. The closer this Being drew, the smaller my dad said he felt. Then, as this Being drew even closer to him, he said, it was as if the Being — whom he knew to be God — merged him into Himself.

He described it as not standing beside God but being absorbed into His very being. In that moment, he realized he had been hidden in God — not as one removed from life, but as one completely covered by His essence.

When remembered the story of his experience, my spirit recognized the truth of what Paul wrote: “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

That “merging,” that envelopment, is what happens in the spirit when we willingly die to self and put on the new man. To be hidden in Christ is to be merged into His nature — His thoughts become our thoughts, His ways our ways, His desires our desires.

Covered in Plain Sight

So, in this current climate — when evil boldly parades in the streets, when news cycles feed fear rather than faith, when people are targeted for their beliefs and injustice grieves our hearts — our comfort is not found in retreating from the world but in being immersed in Christ.

To be hidden in Him is to live so yielded that His Word governs our responses, our choices, our conversations, and our outlook. It’s to let His righteousness replace our bitterness, His peace silence our panic, and His hope override our despair.

This is our true hiding place — not isolation, but incarnation. Not avoidance, but alignment.

Living From the Inside Out

When we understand that our protection is in our position in Him, fear loses its grip. We begin to walk through chaos with calm, through darkness with light, through persecution with peace.

Our “hiding” is not weakness — it’s divine strength revealed in surrender. We are “hidden, protected, covered in plain sight,” not as people escaping reality but as living testimonies of a greater reality — Christ in us, the hope of glory.

So even while the world shakes, we stand secure. Even when the noise grows louder, His voice within whispers stillness. Even when hearts faint for fear, ours are strengthened by faith.

Let this be our confession this week:

“I am hidden with Christ in God. I put off the old man, and I put on the new. I am governed by His Word, covered by His love, and conformed to His likeness. In Him, I live, I move, and I have my being.”

Coach

Kathryn

Each day seems to bring unsettling news