The Secret Place

 

Psalms 91:1 (NKJV) - “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

 

How do we stay unfazed and unworried in a world full of chaos and uncertainty? We are now in the tenth month of the year 2020 and it truly has been a year of shockers. At the beginning of this pandemic, the entire chapter of Psalm 91 was a safe haven for most of us. We recited it, prayed with it and meditated on it because we wanted to be in the secret place where there is protection. Normalcy is resuming and the fear is almost nonexistent. Eventually, we are going to shelve this scripture back into a box and only pick it up when trouble looms.

 

But the secret place is not only a safe haven of protection from the enemy. This statement by David in the Bible paints a picturesque view of how the secret place is. He uses the words; He who “dwells” (perpetually remains) in the secret place shall (certainly/assuredly) abide in the shadow of the Almighty. You cannot stand in the shadow of an object unless you are standing so close to that object. Thus, to remain in the shadow of that object you need to be continuously close to it. David was then saying that, the foremost purpose of being in the secret place is so that we can be close to God such that we are in such close proximity to Him- INTIMACY. 

 

To be overshadowed by Him is to be in His Presence perpetually. To be so close to Him that even our silent whispers are loud in His ears. That our silent fears and anxieties are wrapped up in His love because of that intimacy we have with Him. Picture this secret place like the Eye of a Hurricane. If you’re familiar with this concept, you will know that when ships are on the high seas and there’s a hurricane surging, the logical thing is to move away from its path. But most sailors tend to drive the ship right into the middle of the hurricane and stay there. The center of the Hurricane is surprisingly the calmest and most peaceful. So although these high waves may be wrecking havoc on other ships, the ships in the center of the Hurricane remain peaceful and unshaken as the Hurricane rides them to the shore. It’s pretty tough to navigate a ship into the center of the Hurricane, most ships don’t make it. But if you happen to be in the center before it surges, then you’re safe. 

The invitation to us as children of God is not to run to the Secret Place as and when, but to DWELL in the center with Him always. To dwell, means to stay in a place such that we are rooted and planted. To be rooted and planted means to acknowledge that our source of growth and sustenance is from that environment . The Secret Place should not be a place we run to but must be a place of perpetual habitation.

 

It is a Secret Place. Secrecy connotes privacy and intimacy. Corporate fellowship and prayer is important. But mind you, secrets are not shouted from the rooftops but uttered to those we trust and are close to. God is inviting us to rest perpetually in a place of personal and private  communion  and intimacy with Him. Such that He can reveal His heart desire and will to us, so we can pray and enforce it on earth as it is in Heaven. Most of us view the Secret Place as a place of warfare and so we only go in there to wage war and do battle. To some of us, it is that transactional place we go to only when we are in trouble. But there is more. God craves perpetual habitation in that Secret Place with us. Where His shadow is upon us because we are close to Him and all we see is Him and not the chaos around us.

 

In Mark 1 : 35, Our Lord Jesus, the Son of God,  a great while before dawn went to the mountain to communicate with God daily and that is what God desires. For us to always be with Him so He can share His will, mind and plans with us (share His secrets with us). The Secret Place is both physical and spiritual. Every relationship thrives on communication. Dedicate a set time of the day and a specific place in your home where it is just you and God in fellowship and communion consistently. How do we  intend  to always be close to God when we don’t talk to Him always about everything  and desire  to know what is on His heart if we don’t spend time with  Him? The enemy seeks to steal our heart through social media, events, friendships amongst others but we need to make a deliberate choice to always create time to be with God everytime like Jesus did. Create a mountain where you shut out the world and you spend time with God, unheard and unobserved by others. It is a choice to create that special time and that special place to constantly remain in the center. Because once we move out of the center, the chaos gets overwhelming.  

 

Being in the Secret Place wards off anxiety because you are in always in His shadow.. The cure to anxiety, frustration, exhaustion, fear and worry is in the Secret Place. Because in this place of closeness, He is your GPS guiding you to safety in this chaotic world . We are pilgrims in a world full of uncertainty, but imagine being on that journey with a trusted voice who utters all the secrets you need to navigate the journey. Open victories is the reward of the secrets revealed in the Secret Place. He can only tell secrets to those who choose to always be in proximity because He can trust them. Secrets are not told to people who are untrustworthy.

 

The heart of the Father  is to reveal His secrets to us just like he did with Abraham. He chose to not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah without telling His friend Abraham this secret. His secrets are revealed if we stay in the Secret Place with Him. It’s not just a place of protection but a place of intimacy. Where He can reveal the chaos to you before it even happens and provide a way of escape. So, the next time you pick up your Bible to read Psalm 91, we pray you desire to not only be protected from the noisome pestilence , but it is because  you desire to stay close to Him and in His shadow  forever where He can reveal His secrets to you.

 

Your friends,

Becky and Sharon.