Psalm 91:1 says "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" When the tests and trials of life come and we want to run to Him for shelter, what does that look like? Where do we go and how do we know when we've arrived at His "Secret Place"? I think this looks different for each of us. When you find yourself in a situation where you need God's covering, where do you go?
In Sheila Walsh's book, The Shelter of God's Promises, she tells a story of her teen years when she went camping out in the middle of no where with a couple of friends. As she slept alone in her tent a fierce storm arose and in the dark she found herself in a cleft in the rock where she was able to escape the storm and sleep. In that instance, God's Secret Place was an actual physical place for Sheila. Although there were storms all around her, God gave her a safe warm dry place to stay until the storm subsided.
Sometimes, the Secret Place is not a physical place like the one Sheila Walsh describes, but a spiritual place. I always sign off at the end of my blog posts "From His Lap", because that's my Secret Place in Him. When I enter into prayer or praise and worship, I close my eyes and find myself right there, in His throne room, up on His lap. There is where I can abide under His shadow and feel safe from the storms of life. When I haven't spent time in prayer or if I'm harboring some bad feelings towards someone, it's hard for me to find my way there. That is my gauge that lets me know I'm out of fellowship with Him and I need to get still and quiet so that I can find my way back to the Secret Place.
I went back to Psalm 91:1 and looked at the words again. "Dwell" means "live in". "Abide" means "live in a certain place". What? Oh, so we don't run to that secret place when the storm comes! We live there! We live there! What does that look like? For me, I must strive to live my life as if I'm in the throne room on His lap. I can be a wife from the throne room. I can be a mom from the throne room. I can be a friend, an employee, a neighbor...all from the throne room! I don't mean that I have to be so heavenly minded that I'm no earthly good. And I'm not saying that no storms will come if I stay there. I simply mean, that for me, if I filter life through His shadow as I sit on His lap, I can get through the storms that come and be a testament to others of His Mercy and Grace.
What does His Secret Place look like to you? It would bless us so, if you shared about it here in a comment! There is no right or wrong Secret Place. It's up to each of us to figure out where we can live, abide, dwell in Him.
From His Lap,
