Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place (shelter, NLT) of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. KJV
What does it mean to dwell or live in the secret place of the Most High? First of all, what is the ‘secret place’ and who doesn’t want to dwell there with God?
Surprisingly, not everyone does. The secret place of the Most High is a place reserved for those who seek to live in close fellowship with the Lord. This verse says that they ‘dwell’ there. So, it is not a place found by those whose relationship with Him is casual and occasional.
The Psalmist’s description of the secret place sounds a lot like the Holy of Holies of the Old Testament (vs. 4 of this Psalm says that ‘He will cover them with His feathers’, which sounds much like the mercy seat with its winged cherubs). Of course, only the priests were allowed into the Holy of Holies. This illustrates that there were special places and advantages reserved only for some privileged people who served as Israel’s priests.
But, praise be to the Lord, Revelation 1:6 tells us that Jesus Christ has made us ALL kings and priests unto God, the Father. So, we ALL have the ability under the New Covenant to dwell in this secret place – the inner sanctuary of our Lord.
Even so, that does not mean that ALL do!
We each have a choice in how close to that secret place we dwell. I don’t think that I need to spend a lot of time talking about how we ‘get’ to the secret place; we all know that building relationships with others requires spending time with them. It’s no different with our Heavenly Father.
But instead, I’d like to focus on the benefits of striving to move into and live in the shelter underneath the wings of our Lord. Jesus told the Israelites in Matthew 23:37 “…how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
The Lord won’t force us to live close to Him even though He fervently longs for it. He waits for us to come to Him, and then with one magnificent sweeping motion, He unfurls His mighty wings to joyfully welcome us into His bosom.
Even though a person chooses to forfeit the option to live in the secret place, that does not mean that he/she’s bound for eternal damnation or that they are not a Christian, it just means that they may lose out on some awesome benefits.
We learn some of these benefits by reading the rest of Psalms, chapter 91. Here are a few examples:
Vs. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side… but it shall not come nigh thee.
Vs. 10. There shall no evil befall thee…neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Wow…how awesome is that considering flu season is upon us.)
Vs. 11. His angels will watch over us to protect us from all harm.
Vs. 15. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.
Vs. 16. With long life will I satisfy him.
What a blessed life!!!
As if THESE promises are not enough to make us run to the Lord Jesus to seek our spot underneath His wonderful wings, Psalm 16:11 tells us… ‘in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’
Of course, this does not mean that we may expect to experience a trouble-free life in this fallen world that we live in. However, if we choose to dwell in the secret place of the Most High as we continue our short trek through this fallen world, we can experience the fullness of Christ’s own joy each day! And it certainly means that we will experience the secret pleasures only known and enjoyed by those who choose to live and dwell continuously in His presence.
So, why don’t we?
One day I had read Hebrews 4:16, which says:
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
This verse urges us to come boldly to the throne and approach God without reservation or hesitation (with all the confidence that a child would his/her own father). I ventured to imagine myself entering the throne room, making my way up to His majestic presence, bowing before my Father and then I began to express the things on my heart. Things were going well at first, it was amazing… But then, without warning, a simply horrible, ungodly thought entered my mind and as quickly as a flash, I imagined myself being quickly and violently whisked from the room and cast out into the hallway.
What happened???
In short…Satan happened!
According to Revelation 12:10, he is the Accuser of the Brethren! His job is to do everything possible to keep us OUT of fellowship with God – and he is so effective at his job. If his attempts to derail us with blatant sin fail, his second choice is to keep us in the hallway, just outside the presence of our Father. In this way, he keeps us feeling too unworthy and too condemned to pursue our blood-bought place in our Father’s fellowship.
So often, we play right into his hand. Don’t let Satan steal the relationship that Jesus purchased for you. None of us are worthy, but that shouldn’t stop us – we come to our Father based on Jesus’s worthiness, not our own! Trying to EARN the right to come into the presence of our Father is nothing short of pride on our part… repent of that and come… basing your confidence in Jesus’ righteousness (When you accepted Jesus, He exchanged YOUR filthy-rag righteousness with His perfect, flawless righteousness).
If you need to confess some sin, then do it! But, never let that sin keep you from fellowship with your Father. Get it out in the open, but keep moving forward…don’t run for the hallway!
Now, the scenario that I just described was during one of my quiet times with the Lord. However, dwelling in the secret place means living in the special relationship that God desires for all of us. It’s an intimate, Father/son (daughter) love affair (for lack of a better term).
Other than condemnation (as described above), a failure to truly acquaint ourselves with the height, depth, breadth, and length (the infinite scope) of His affection is the greatest hindrance to experiencing the love affair our Father craves with us.
Ephesians 3:17-19 says:
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
These verses say that the knowledge of His love is beyond human knowledge. So, it is something that we must by faith (vs. 17), ask and trust God to reveal to us. We know that God loves us because the most quoted verse in the Bible tells us so (i.e. John 3:16).
We can wrap our minds around the “for-God-so-loved-the-world” knowledge of His love, but we must come to a “for-God-is-so-in-love-with-me” knowledge of His love before we can begin to understand the breadth and length, and depth, and height of His affections. And until we come to that place of knowledge, we will have trouble dwelling in the secret place – which is, in my opinion, a place where you and God are BFF’s (best friends forever). Please don’t take offense to that…it’s true – Jesus said:
“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you FRIENDS; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
I don’t know what it will take to convince you of the measure of love that God has for you, but I can tell you what has worked for me. First of all, as I’ve already noted, you must ask God to give you a revelation of His love (because it is not something we can understand with our human mind); then, I remind myself of His love often.
In the morning, evening, at night and as often as it occurs to me, I say, “God loves me”…”God loves ME!”… “little ole me!” And do you know what?… I believe it! And now, I walk right into that throne room and ‘yes’ Satan still reminds me of my shortcomings, but I don’t let him run me off anymore. I say, “Yes, I fail and I’m far from perfect, but my Father’s love is greater than all my flaws” – and I dig my heels in and I look up into my Father’s face and in my imagination, He’s smiling so sweetly (He even gives me a secret little wink sometimes…this is MY imagination, so I can have a wink if I want it)!
I believe that the secret place is a place in our own heart and mind where our focus is constantly on the goodness and kindness of our Father – where we continually visit (in our imagination) because we feel…
…completely, unconditionally loved, accepted and valued.
According to Ephesians 3:17, you must have faith to believe in God’s love for you. It is such an awesome love that we can’t comprehend it without faith. Don’t try to figure it out, just ACCEPT it! The secret place is a place of continuously relishing, savoring, and resting in our Father’s love.
He makes life so sweet!
Then according to Ephesians 3:19, once we comprehend by faith the infinite scope of love that He has for us, we will be filled with all the FULLNESS of God. Wow… all the FULLNESS of God – what an awesome thought – BUT what does that mean exactly?
I prayed about this and the following is what I came up with; well, I should say that the following is what the Lord reminded me of, which is the closest experience to living in the love of God that I have encountered in my own life.
When I was a child I remember times when I felt so secure in the love of God that life was simply exciting – it seemed that I enjoyed EVERYTHING.
I viewed every day as though it were an exciting adventure, even the mundane things in life like going to school. Actually, those are the memories that I remember most fondly. The Christmas plays were especially meaningful – I felt so loved by God! I did NOT question His love, I simply savored it. It was as though it engulfed me; I felt literally wrapped in a blanket of God’s affection… and THAT made everything exciting!
I recall sitting one day staring into the magic that was our Christmas tree with all its bright lights and tinsel and even as a child, it wasn’t the gifts or the vacation from school that thrilled me, it was the fact that I felt His love and it was purely magical (not in a Harry Potter sort of way, but in an I’m- so-special-to-God sort of way)!
Please don’t be offended that I felt special to God! We should all feel special to God.
We ARE special to Him – each one of us are! I can’t take YOUR place in His heart and you can’t take MINE! YOU are His favorite…and I am too! I know…I don’t understand that either, it’s hard to comprehend, but it’s TRUE!
To live in the fullness of God (in the secret place of total security and acceptance) means that we strive to acquaint ourselves with His love so completely that it makes the rest of our lives a meaningful, exciting adventure. When we genuinely experience God’s love, it is unequivocally exhilarating.
It’s like sitting by a warm fireplace on a cold, blustery day snuggled underneath your favorite quilt (yes, the one handmade by your grandmother) with a good book in hand, sipping hot chocolate with little marshmallows… watching the snow fall outside from your picture window.
Doesn’t that sound nice? Snug as a bug in a rug… Well, when God wraps you in His love, it’s like this (only a gazillion times better) EVERYDAY.
And even when life doesn’t don a picture perfect reality, and eventhough it forces you to take a walk outside in the midst of that cold, harsh winter’s storm, you are not alone…you will still be warmed by the light of a Father’s love that will never forsake you.
Have you searched long and hard for the meaning of life; for something to fulfill that emptiness in your heart? Look no longer – all the joys of this life are found ‘in the secret place’ of the Most High. Once you come into His presence, you will never want to leave. (Even the warm and fuzzy feeling you get from snuggling underneath grandma’s quilt in front of a warm fire can’t compare.)
And the woes of this world may come, but they will never penetrate His mighty wings of love that surround you!
Can I just say it one more time…?
“Experiencing God’s love makes life meaningful and exciting!”
Say it with me… “God loves ME!!!” Repeat…repeat…repeat.
