Two keys to the secret place

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 Psalms 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This is one of the earliest verses the Lord ever told me to claim as my own. 

I was on the sandy shore of the Persian Gulf. I and two fellow soldiers stood on the beach and prayed- concerned for our lives (we were there for the Gulf War). I remember now how I prayed as we all walked away from each other- each seeking a solitary place to talk to God. 

I remember the Lord breaking in on my prayers and telling me to open my Bible. And there, in the quickly fading daylight (or was it by flashlight? I don't truly remember now), he illuminated a promise to me that I would make it through the Gulf War. 

I'm a little bit slow witted sometimes. It would be years and years later before I would finally begin to sense the deeper invitation that was hidden in plain view within those precious words, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high..."

I was freshly biblically born again, but the Holy God of the universe was inviting me to LIVE (dwell) in a secret place (a special close relationship) with him (the MOST HIGH). 

Through the years he would have me preach sermons with themes like, "Come up hither" and "living where I AM." But, I was too dense to see that he was still inviting me personally to that same "secret place." It's been over 32 years since that precious dusty beach, but God is finally clearing away some of the layers from my eyes. 

My questioning has become "Lord, how do I dwell (live in) that secret place with you?"

The first answers are obvious. 

Prayer and Bible study. Without prayer and study, we will never learn of God nor grow any deeper in God. So we must absolutely take the time- not find the time- but MAKE the time to pray and read his word. It HAS to be of the highest priority in our lives.

But, beyond that he's beginning to show me some things. 

There are at least 2 (probably more) keys that can open up the secret place in God within our lives. 

1) Staying focused on God

Isaiah 26:3

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." 

This ties in with Jesus being our priority. It's a promise. No matter what we are facing. No matter what we are going through. If we will keep our minds (our thoughts) focused on God, then he will keep us in perfect peace! This is exactly what Psalms 91 is saying. If we will stay focused on him, then we have the comfort (the peace) to know that we are under HIS shadow- he's watching over us. We know- no matter what- he's in charge. 

The three Hebrew men (Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednigo) in Daniel didn't have a direct word from God for their situation. But, they lived in prayer and in his presence every day. They knew that no matter what happened, they were not going to bow to the idol. They told the king that whether God chose to save them or not, they were not worshipping the idol. 

God showed up and shook the kingdom! They could stand on this because they dwelt in the secret place with God.

2) resting in the promises of God

Luke 8:22-25

King James Version

22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

Jesus is 100% God, but also 100% man. 

But, in his earthly ministry, he walked in a way in order to show us how we are intended to walk in his spirit. 

This snippet is one example of how he did that. 

He told them to get in the boat. They were going to the other side of the lake. 

As they "got busy," he went into the deeper recesses of the boat and went to sleep. 

Two mistakes I've made when I've gotten a word from God.

1) File the word away and concentrate on what God has done in the past. They had just left some awesome ministry. Spirit's were high. Excitement was in the air. "Wow! Remember this...and that...?"

It's easy to focus on yesterdays blessings and not notice today's storms until they're in our face. 

2) Focus on the new word. Try to understand it, disect it, analyze it. What exactly does he really mean by what he said for the future?

It's easy to be excited about the future and not see today's storms bearing down on us. 

Jesus knew what had happened before. Jesus knew where they were going. Did he jabber about either? Did he stand around in awe of the past? Did he wonder about the possible glories of the future?

No. He rested in the promises. He slept in the presence of the spirit of God so that when the future arrived, he was ready to do whatever the spirit told him to do. When the storm arrived, he was much more bothered by their lack of faith than by the storm.

Peter was in jail. He was being gaurded by 16 Roman soldiers. He was under a death sentence. The only reason he wasn't dead already was because it was a Jewish holiday and illegal to execute anyone on that day. Was he worried? Was he bawling and squalling? Was he frantically seeking a way out?

No. 

He remembered how Jesus had said he was going to die, compared the circumstances to that, and said, "It's not my time yet." Rather than chewing his nails off, he followed the example of his master, and went to sleep. The angel that was sent to free him had to wake him up to get him out. 

He was able to do this because he was resting in the promises and presence of God. He had learned the lesson of the lake in Luke 8. 

Jesus rebuked their lack of faith. Why? Because Jesus had told them they were going to the other side before they entered the boat. But their faith was on the storm, the circumstances, rather than on his promise. It became a teaching moment for them. 

So when Peter found himself in prison under a death sentence, he remembered Jesus promise to him and just rested in that promise. 

If we will a) stay focused on Jesus throughout our day and b) rest in his promises and presence, then we will be able to dwell in (live in) that precious secret place and know that no matter what- we are abiding under HIS shadow of protection- in his perfect peace. 

The Joy of the Lord comes through active relationship with him.

 Isaiah 35:10

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

I've had an incredibly good morning. 

It started on my way to my short work day. On the way to work, I grabbed my wife's hand and began praying. My customary short prayer for protection for us and our family back home turned into a long prayer of intercession for many folks. 

Then, as we loaded our truck and worked the stores we had to work this morning, the feeling of God's presence that I'd felt all morning began to blossom and I felt what can only be described as "the Joy of the Lord." It was like a fountain of Joy bubbling up from the inside where God lives. I could hear the whispered voice of God. I could feel his presence like I haven't felt in years! 

I felt like crying (and did some) but it was tears of Joy. I wasn't sad at all! I was just reveling in the feeling of being in his arms and enjoying hearing his whispered words! It's incredible! 

Recently I've been praying for God to teach me to hear him and teach me how to truly walk with him. And he's begun to answer that prayer! 

It's simple for him. God is always speaking. It's our spiritual ears that need to learn to become attuned to hearing his voice. But there are many voices out there that are all vying for attention. On top of that, there are many voices that we purposely go looking for. That, I believe, is why God's voice is referred to as a "still small voice." 

Enoch walked and talked with God. I'm sure that God's voice wasn't constantly being interrupted by Enoch saying, "Lord, can you please repeat that? I didn't quite catch what you said." 

Moses and the people of Israel heard God's voice and it was powerful and loud enough to shake the mountain and sounded like lightning and thunder! 

But, somehow we have a hard time hearing him. Oh, there are times when his voice is very clear. I believe that's because he's emphatically trying to make a point. But the rest of the time, hearing from God is a bit more difficult. 

Yet, his word says, (Isaiah 30:21)

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

So it can't be as difficult to hear from God as it seems to be for us. God does speak. He desires to walk and talk with us. 

So taking a page from Enoch (not that I'm anywhere close to that level of communication), I've been praying "Lord, let me walk in your spirit and talk with you." I want to be able to hear from him all the time. I don't just want to get snippets from God. I want to have an in-depth conversational relationship with him! 

Marriage is supposed to be a picture of God's relationship with us. Unfortunately, the way most of us handle our relationship with our spouse doesn't come anywhere close to holding up that picture. But, in theory, it's true. 

I don't know about you, but I don't talk to my wife in short, seemingly random snippets and then walk away to do my own thing. We talk- probably not enough- but we have in-depth conversations, light-hearted conversations, and everything in between. We interact with each other and get to know each other very well. 

The more I learn of her thoughts and feelings, the easier it becomes to act and speak in ways that please her. I can stop a comment from coming forth that I know will hurt her because I know how she thinks. I can rephrase my comments in a way that will be pleasing to her. I can interact with others in ways that I know my wife will have no issue with because I know how she thinks. 

It's the same with God. When we read his word, we gain a sense of his thoughts, but when we hear his voice, we have a direct line to his brain! From his brain to his lips to our ears to our brains, to our actions and words. That's what Enoch had! That's what many of the saints of old had! 

That's what I want and that's what he came to regain. 

Jesus said that he came to "seek and to save THAT which was lost." He didn't say those who were lost. So what is that which was lost?

What God had with Adam before the fall. What he had with Enoch for a bit. He saves us from our sins so that we can learn to walk and talk with him just like they did. Day in and day out. Night in and night out. 

I'm tired of guessing. I want to know that I know that I know. That requires walking and talking with him. So that's become my prayer. 

God began that answer by answering another prayer. 

You see. I've heard about calvary all my life. I know why he went to calvary. What he did for us on Calvary. I can explain a lot of the ins and outs of calvary from a scriptural and theological basis. But somehow, the facts of calvary had become old hat to me. It was a list of facts that I had become accustomed to and too comfortable with. 

In other words, I could regurgitate the facts, but it no longer touched my emotions. It didn't pull my heartstrings. 

When I thought about it, it bothered me. 

An unemotional response to the sufferings of our savior is like a spoiled pampered child who doesn't appreciate how hard daddy has to work to take care of him. We get angry over things not being given to us. We are upset by not having our way because "daddy owes me."

So, I've been asking God to allow me a renewed picture of Calvary.

And boy did he! 

Through a statement my wife made twice, I was reminded of an old Carman song. After that song, we began listening to a few others. Then we came across this one. Please give it a listen. If ever there was a song that paints a vivid portrait of Calvary, this one does: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fGHTL9E0nE&ab_channel=SarahSouth

When I heard that song again and the Lord enabled me to picture in my mind just what he had to go through to purchase my redemption, I was (and still am) brought to tears. I don't deserve the pain he endured for me! I don't deserve the love that held him there! I don't deserve one drop of his precious blood that he shed to pay my ransom! 

But he did it all. He endured it all. He took on ALL MY SIN that I might have a chance to put on his righteousness! 

What an amazing love my God has for us! He did that for us all! 

This renewed experience has enabled me to pray differently. Rather than a list of "I want this," it's now, "what do you want, Lord?" This has helped me to live differently. It's helped me to live each day with a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. My desires are changing to come in line with his. 

But, more importantly, his voice has become easier to discern! 

I'm not where I want or need to be yet. But, I could feel him praying through me today. I could hear him speak a few things. And when it was over, his presence stayed with me! And I could feel his joy emanating through me. I felt like a young boy being picked up and carried by his strong, but loving father! And when he spoke, it was still soft, but it felt like he was whispering in my ear directly! 

I am convinced that I want more of him! He must increase and I must decrease! 

Help me Lord Jesus to walk and talk with you all day every day. Teach me your ways and your paths! Show me your will and give me the strength to do it! I want to know you more and more each day! 

I'm hooked, Lord! Reel me into your arms and keep me there! 

We spend our whole lives looking for happiness. We turn over every leaf to try and find it. We experiment with this and with that, hoping to find fulfillment and joy. We feel like a puzzle piece trying to find the place where we truly fit. 

The truth is, our fulfillment, our happiness, our place where we truly fit, is found only in a real relationship with Jesus. Our joy comes from feeling his approval and knowing we are where we're supposed to be - in his arms. 

It's truly a wonderful experience that I have just been allowed to scratch the surface of. 

I want more and more! 

Don't you?