Dwelling in the Secret Place

2012-01-01T14:40:00.001-08:00

There are three phrases that I have chosen to focus on this year. Two of them are directly from scripture and the third is at least very Biblically inspired. I will explain, in brief, each one over the next three days.

The first is to dwell in the secret place of the Most High. The phrase is taken from Psalm 91:

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place,
the Most High, who is my refuge,
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

To truly live these words is my greatest desire. The Psalm was written by King David and some may choose to interpret it as only applying to him personally. Others may see the prophetic message of a coming Messiah and interpret it as only applying to Jesus. I believe the passage interprets itself quite clearly when it states that it is written about "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High". That includes David, Jesus... and hopefully me. I believe that the incredible promises held in this passage are available to all believers, if we will only take hold of them. How? The passage itself gives us a good start: Trust God, do not fear, hold fast to Him in love, know His name, call out to Him, dwell with Him in the secret place.
This idea of dwelling with God in the secret place has been calling out to me all my life, but especially in the last year. (The longing went into overdrive while I was on outreach in Thailand and I listened to an excellent sermon on Psalm 91 by Graham Cooke.) Where is this secret place? How do we get there? How do we stay? These are questions every believer should be asking if you truly want to experience that "life abundant" that Jesus promised.
I want to avoid getting too theological here and risk doctrinal debate that would rob us of actually receiving anything from God about this. To put it simply I want to daily live more from my spirit (the core of my being, which has been "made perfect forever" by Christ's sacrifice) and less from my soul (my mind and emotions, which are "being made holy" by God's grace). To abide in the shadow of the Almighty is to walk by faith and not by sight.

I have never found any pursuit more challenging. I have never found any pursuit so rewarding.

Ramblings of an Enraptured Soul

Dwelling in the Secret Place