Some Delightful Hidden Place

Psalm 46:8-11
Come, behold the works of the Lord;
    see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations;
    I am exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

August 28th is the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo, the 2nd and 3rd century North African bishop and patron saint of theologians, brewers, and printers. Augustine was born into a relatively wealthy family and used that advantage to pursue a philosophical education from some of the brightest minds of his time. He spent most of his youth engaging in all the leisure and decadence that his wealth allowed him until he read St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans in his early 30s and felt he needed to make a change. It was at this time that Augustine prayed one of the funniest and most relatable prayers I know, “Lord, grant me temperance and chastity…but not yet!” 

It would not be an easy surrender, and Augustine became torn between what he might have to give up and what his life in Christ would mean. Was he ready to give up a life of pleasure for a life of quiet discipline and service to others? Was God’s love and grace enough?

When we discover that God, the creator and lover of our souls, wants what's best for us, it becomes easier to relinquish our tight grip of control over our futures. Augustine eventually placed his life in God’s hands and would later write, “Restless is our heart until it comes to rest in you.” He stepped into the unknown, the mystery of love, by his free will and by God’s grace.

“Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it.” -St. Augustine of Hippo

Rev. Ryan Young