Written by: CR - Dale in Celebrate Recovery, Local Sites, Longwood on February 3, 2012

Hi my name is Dale, I believe in God and His love for each of us, it's in response to that love that I am celebrating recovery from pornography.

Nahum (NAYhum) 1.7 reads: God is good, a Hiding Place in tough times He recognizes and welcomes anyone looking for help.

This evening were going to be worshiping God as The Hiding Place.

Four weeks ago Mary Ann stood up here and read off a list of God's attributes as several of you stood holding placards with those attributes labeled upon them. She then challenged us to pick one and discuss it in small group. I don't know about you guys but I didn't have a choice on that night, it's as if the whole room went black except the placard that was meant for me and that placard was Hiding Place. I'm going to be honest I knew it was of God, Holy Spirit led, but it sounded so juvenile, so kindergarten compared to say El Shaddai (God Almighty). I didn’t understand why I was to know God as my Hiding Place, and I shared that in small group. But I did trust that God would show me. A couple of weeks ago we did a skit as you may remember, or should I say as you won't forget Susan's performance. The day after someone approached me and asked if I was nervous, because I sure looked it. Yes, I definitely was nervous, but I was actually fighting back tears because of what I was reading and how true it had been in my life. I read "Oh, no no. I'm not blindfolded by this. It's actually a great way to escape from life's struggles." It became clear I had many hiding places that I already used such as pride, people pleasing, and ice cream to name but a few. God was inviting me to use Him as my TRUE source of comfort.

Psalms 32.7 reads: You are my Hiding Place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

One of my earliest fond memories is of my brother and I waking up on cold winter mornings snuggled up in bed waiting for the furnace to come on. When it did we would explode from the warmth of our beds laughing and giggling diving under the sheet we had placed over the furnace now filled with its warmth. After several minutes the furnace would stop, the sheet would fall, and my brother and I would crawl out warmed from the furnace and laughter. Hiding place was definitely no accident, God knew how to reach my heart, He loves us that personally and that's anything but juvenile. However same as we had to crawl out from under that sheet and face the cold. We too have to move forward and continue to grow, the difference being that thanks to Jesus we carry the furnace within us, we have full access anytime and anywhere we only need to ask.

Over these past few weeks as I've looked to use God as my Hiding Place he's filled me with the strength to face and turn away from my previous forms of hiding. Most important with God as my Hiding Place I feel no need to hide.