We all long for a place to retreat to away from the busyness of life, the loudness of our everyday and cares of this world. We all long for a secret place to just simply be still. As the days are becoming shorter and the air cooler and fall has arrived I feel this longing more.
My heart is so inspired by the fog lifting in the early morning hours, the beautiful color of the leaves changing and falling to the ground. Because of this a friend shared this beautiful image with me. It immediately made me think of the secret place. A place of hiding. A place of refuge. A place of stillness. A place of powerful silence. A place of comfort. A place of joy. A place of peace. We can all agree that this place a desire of all our hearts.
God gave us that place and many benefits to dwelling there.
Psalm 91
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.””
This is the secret place were all of your meets with all of Him. That place where you’re completely exposed, raw, real and vulnerable. That place where change takes place. Where God works on the deepest parts of you. Where He speaks to you and gives you wisdom and direction. Where you find a refreshing that could only be found in that place with Him.
We are all longing for that place and live for times where we retreat from the loudness of the world, the busyness of this life and find solace. We run here.
As I meditated on Psalm 91 and looked at this image I was immediately drawn into His presence. It made me think of all the hard moments that I would run to this place as fast as I could because I knew it’s where I would find refuge, hope and strength. I look at this image and if the secret place was an actual place, for me, this is what it would look like and I would go there and never want to leave.
But thank God the secret place isn’t an actual place but an awareness of His presence, His promises and His power. Always keeping Him in our thoughts and hearts, withdrawing from the world to read His Word and pray and draw strength and listen for His voice. We get to dwell here each and everyday with Him.
As I meditated I came across this teaching:
What is a ‘secret place’ in the Bible?
The term “secret place” appears in the Old and New Testaments and most often refers to the way our soul is in relationship with God.
For example, Psalm 27: 5 says, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.” This “tent” of God is, of course, not a piece of camping equipment or ancient desert dwelling. This is the word cether in Hebrew and refers to a place to hide or be concealed—a secret place.
In the New Testament, Jesus instructs us to go to a quiet place, a secret place, a room with the door shut when we pray (Matthew 6: 6). He is not telling us, necessarily, about a physical location to pray, but a secret place in our lives set aside for one-on-one time with God—a place of solitude.
Jesus set the example by often going away from His followers to spend time alone with God (Mark 1: 35; Luke 4: 42).
When we spend time with someone, we learn more about them, and even begin to become like them. When we spend time alone with God, we learn more about Him and it is also a way He transforms us to become more like Him. Spending time in our “secret place” with God is one way of choosing the Spirit over the flesh (Romans 8:5-8). When we do that, we have more of a heavenly, eternal perspective. We find the ability to remain thankful in all things (Ephesians 5: 18–21).
This idea of a secret place is not a call to a monastic existence. It is also not a call to make our spiritual lives secretive or private. Corporate worship, praying with and for one another, and all that is involved in Christian fellowship, have a very important place in the Christian life. Rather, having a secret place is an intentional decision to establish a routine that includes time with God reading the Bible, praying, and listening to Him. He will meet you there (John 14: 21) and help you become more Christ-like in character (John 15: 4–5; Romans 12: 2; 1 John 2: 5–6; Psalm 92: 12–14).
This secret place, where we meet with God one-on-one, is where we should find ourselves often. Psalm 91: 1–2 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” Abiding in God, we find shelter, refuge, and fortress. It is in the secret place that we are most vulnerable with God and most deeply experience His intimate love. (Compelling Truth)
What a beautiful gift we have been given. That we don’t have to live this life without Him right here with us. We can retreat at any time and be alone with Him. We should all set apart time to withdraw from life to let God minister to us, change us or speak to us in the sweet refuge He made for us. I could not live this life without this time with Him. Let’s be women that make this secret place a priority and watch as God displays His glory in you and through you.
Heart After His,
Sheila Millinder
Photo Credit @
The Simple Things Photography By Wanda
