Hiding in God

William Cushing faced a challenged. How to respond to the request of Ira Sankey (famed for his work with evangelist Dwight Moody) for hymn to write a special hymn. It was 1876, and Cushing prayed, asking God to give him something that would glorify Him. He later recalled that how words came to him as he thought about his life.

Cushing, who was born on this day in 1823, had spent most of his life in ministry. But he also had experienced personal trials. He was forced to retire after his health declined and his wife died. Writing hymns became an outlet to express his faith, and what he had learned from the Lord. He also looked at these hymns as part of his worship.

As he pondered Sankey’s challenge, he remembered the “many battles” he had experienced. He expressed “the outgrowth of many tears, many heart-conflicts and soul-yearnings, of which the world can know nothing.”

In this hymn (“Hiding in God”), Cushing wrote that God had been faithful. In the storms of life, he felt safe clinging to “the Rock that is higher than I,” and that his soul would fly to His safety when he went through “conflicts and sorrows.”

He felt weary, and knew the pain and price of sin, but knew that he could hide in God, who was with him anytime, “in the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,” and “in times when temptation casts o’er me its power.”

On the last day of this year, look back and remember how God has been with you. He promises to be with you into the future. No matter what happens in the coming year, you can trust Him. Seek Him with your whole heart. Be at peace and rejoice. You can hide in Him.