THE SECRET PLACE

You have asked "What is the Secret Place?" Let me first say, that I understand a great deal about the Secret Place, and one of the things that I understand is that I really don't understand it very well. I am learning, but what I have learned I will share with you. The Secret Place is turning out to be more and more to me all the time. At one point it was a pinpoint of light that gave me Hope. Now, it has become brilliant and powerful, warm and peaceful.

First of all, the Secret Place IS a place. And it is a place where we can live (dwell). And as long as we dwell (live there), no harm can come to us because we stand in the shadow of the most powerful force in all existence, both spiritual and physical. I will come at it from a number of different directions, because there is relevance with each point of view. There is such depth to God’s understanding of things, in much the same way that Jesus keeps describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is like with a multitude of parables describing it. So it is with the Secret Place.

The Secret Place… is the Center of God and the Center of His Word (which really are the same thing, for God is the Word of God. See John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.” Then move over and read John 15. Note verse 7 in particular, “If you abide in ME, and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.”

Ok, I will assume that you read those two passages now. You see God is as much a place as He is a person. And His Word is as much a Person as it is a Place. It kind of reminds me of something I tell Belle from time to time, "Sweetheart, you are my favorite place in the whole world." It’s just a way to say that wherever she is I want to be. I could live anywhere and it would be wonderful...if she was there.

Go to Psalms 139:1-12 “O Lord, Thou has searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up. Thou dost understand my thoughts from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou does know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is to wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou are there. If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night.” Even the darkness is light to Thee and the night as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee.”

My wife and I have a secret place. A place that she dwells in. It manifests itself the most in the mornings. She often sleeps with her head on my chest and my arms wrapped around her. She is a heavy sleeper, but I am not.    So often, I lay there for hours just soaking up the most incredible feelings in the whole world. Words simply cannot describe what it is like for this woman to trust me with her heart as she lays there so peacefully on my chest.   I dare not disturb her, because if I do, she might move and lay her head on her pillow, and then that feeling will go away.   In my relationship with the Lord, I imagine Him feeling the same when I lay my head on Him.   For I am His bride.

This secret place is quite literally "The Kingdom of Heaven." It is where His will is done here on earth… as it is in Heaven! It is where I love to go, and where I find all that ever will need. It is my home. It is where He meets me. It is where He sups with me and me with Him. It is where nothing can hurt me or anything that is mine. It is a place that only a few ever find. It is a place where only Narrow Gate Christians ever find themselves. (If you have read my blog on "Ryker's Building Project, you know even more.) It is where whatever I speak in the Spirit manifests itself in the physical. It is where I go to receive healing for anything and everything. It is where I neither hunger nor thirst. The secret place is the Word of God. Read John 4: 13-14, “Jesus answered and said “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.“

Only Christians who know, believe, and have received the Word of God as a matter of fact will ever experience this intimacy and trust. Because only they can let go and trust that He is not only able to protect them from all harm, but that He WILL. Narrow Gate Christians rest easily, because they are absolutely convinced that if God is for them, then nothing is able to stand against them. And because they are convinced, then indeed nothing can.

Psalms 91: 4 says that it is His Truth (His Unfailing Word) that is our strong defense. There lies our hope. Without His Word we are completely vulnerable to the god of this world. With His Word we are unstoppable, untouchable, and invincible. Whether we like it or not, if we fall, it is not because God's Word failed. It is because we have left ourselves exposed. And so, I press on with urgency knowing not when the destroyer comes.

Here is a continuing list of what cannot touch me:

Psalm 91:5 - Unseen Terrors that sneak up on people in the prime of their lives. Nor the weapons that come against me in bright day light.

Psalm 91:6 - Unseen diseases that respect no one, nor the destruction that comes on people in the middle of the day out in the open.

Vs. 7.... while your eyes may give witness to a thousand people falling prey to these things, and even when ten thousand people fall prey to them on your right hand…. NONE of these things will come near you. Only with your eyes will you see what happens to people who do not dwell in the Secret Place (vs 9).

Vs. 10. No evil planned against you will be effective. And no sickness will come near your home and those you love.

Vs. 11. Because, He has put His angels in charge of your well being (and they only obey the Word of God). They are charged with watching you so close that you will not even stub your toe. Much less be consumed by the things we just discussed.

Vs. 13 - As a matter of fact, I can safely tread upon and over anything that normally kills people. Because you have set your love upon the Lord; He will deliver you and honor you above all humanity. Furthermore He will satisfy you with a long life, and then He will show you the salvation He has prepared for you.

Another Scripture that mirrors Psalm 91 is Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy, and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you!”

Believing these passages will arm you with the Shield of Faith ( Ephesians 6:16). It is what quenches all the fiery darts (lies:doubts) of the destroyer. This is your rest, that God is a GOOD God, and He looks out after your safety and protection. His will is that you “live long and prosper”, to quote an old TV show.

Let me note one thing before I go. When you go to the scene where the devil is tempting Jesus on the top of the temple in Matthew 4:1-11, you will hear the enemy say, "If you are really God, throw yourself down off the temple, because it is written that He has given His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways, lest you were to even stub your toe.” The devil was quoting Psalms 91:11-12. By doing this, he was actually giving credibility to the fact that God's Word means what it says, even to the point that the angels will not allow even the smallest stubbed toe to come against me. And Jesus did not deny it; though He responded that it is also written that “thou shalt not tempt the Lord your God.” Which is just a way to say, that God's promises do not give me the license to do stupid stuff and expect God to cover me.

But, if I am dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High, I will dwell in the Shadow of the ALMIGHTY.

It is this truth, that I plant deeply into the hearts of the young men before they deploy to combat. It is by faith that they must know that while the bullets are flying, they cannot be touched. While the bombs are exploding, they will be unharmed. They may see other marines falling all around them, but it will not touch them. It is this shield of faith that I pray with all my heart they got while they were here. And it is this shield of faith that I constantly remind them the whole time they are there.