The Secret Place

There’s a lot that can weigh us down.

I think, as Christians, we struggle with what life is supposed to look like here on earth. We hear songs and messages about being overcomers and how we can do ALL things through Christ but most of us have difficulties reconciling these truths with what we’re living. What we see in the natural makes it so very hard for us to believe in the supernatural and yet, as one of my favorite Bible teachers, Andrew Wommack, says:

“As Christians, if we aren’t living a supernatural life, then we are living a superficial life.”

(Andrew can be blunt but that’s one of the things I appreciate most about him.)

It’s true! We are called to live as overcomers. So how do we do that?

Well, today, I’d like to talk a little about the “secret place” of God. This is a place where you, as a child of God, can go – anytime you need – to experience the supernatural strength of God. The TPT (The Passion Translation) Bible sometimes refers to it as His “Wrap-Around Presence.” I love that.

Knowing the Word of God will reveal to you what’s available in this secret place; this wrap-around presence. You’ll be amazed what God has for you there. Yes, reading the Word is essential for wisdom but something else is as well: relationship. We weren’t made to function on words without relationship. If your spouse or best friend used a lot of really nice words but seldom followed through with action or heart, you’d feel like something was missing.

Relationship is key.

I do believe we’re meant to live as the scriptures teach. I’ve believed it for some time now. But achieving this, at times, has eluded me. I could memorize verses and speak them out with conviction but they wouldn’t always take root. And that would frustrate me.

Yet when I would combine the truth I was learning in the Word with the experience of hanging out with the God who cares for me, I would come away changed…really changed. I guess that’s the part of the verse we sometimes miss: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We have to allow ourselves to be strengthened and this happens in the blessed time we choose to take daily with our Jesus.

One thing I’ve come to understand about our God, through Scripture and experience, is that He is endless love and compassion. I didn’t always see that with such clarity. But now I do. Even after I had made reading the Word a part of my daily life (which I’ve been doing for many years now), I still had to trudge through and get past a lot of the enemy’s lies. These lies would make me feel forgotten or uncared for or worthless or…I could keep going but I think you get the point.

The Word taught me those things were lies. Once you’re covered in the precious blood of Jesus, you are reconnected with God and you begin to become more and more like Him. You are His precious child. And, when you know that, you open yourself up to the faith it takes to experience all He has for you.

Allow me to share how entering His presence works for me because I want to help anyone else who might be struggling. I know this struggle well and I know it can lead to forfeiting the awesome gifts we receive in His presence. What I am going to share with you about my process of entering the secret place is something I wish I knew years ago. And its simplicity will probably surprise you.

God will meet us here in our earthly circumstances. He is so compassionate and loving that He will come and sit in the muck with you and listen to your heart. For me, if I’m in a particularly awful mood, this is one of the first-steps in seeking intimacy with Him: allowing myself to be loved right there where I am. I just open my mouth, in an act of faith, and begin talking to Him. I tell Him all the things He already knows but I need to say. I pour out my heart. Many of the psalms begin this way and I love that we have the psalms to show us we’re not alone! Even David would often begin his prayer-time with the Lord feeling so overwhelmed that hope seemed a distant memory.

Many years ago, I started this process of bringing all my troubles before the Lord – all my frustration, pain, confusion, weariness etc. I’d get it all out. I would take long drives because I always felt my car was a safe place for venting and because I love to take drives anyway. It’s my way of escaping the norm to find inspiration in something beautiful or new. I’d empty out my heart in whispers or screams or sobs – whatever the moment called for – and my car became my little rolling sanctuary. After I would empty out all of that built-up stuff, I’d then begin to ease into the silence. Or the music that was playing. And then something miraculous would occur: I’d begin to feel His presence. He would actually respond to my fits. What love is this?

The emptying out of our hearts is sometimes an essential step to hearing His voice but it’s not the resting point. The following step is crucial and is simply this: linger and listen.

I’ve only recently come to understand the importance of consistently working my way into that holy place with Him – every single day. When I work my way past the emotions to get to a place where I can be quiet with Him, then I enter into the realm of possibilities – aka: the secret place. If my alone time with Him is all my voice and little to none of His, I feel very little relief and often drag all of the same burdens into the next day – and the next, and the next, and the next.

Whether or not you enter into time with Him daily in true intimacy will determine what kind of life you live. If you’re stuck on how to do that, I understand because I’ve been there, and I offer you this formula of sorts:

1. Spend some time in the Word – get some truth into your heart. And if you don’t feel like doing this until after Step 2 or 3, sometimes that works better anyway! I like to use Bible reading plans to keep me on track and keep me reading. I also like to read different versions of the Bible because it keeps things fresh. I’ve made a point of reading through the Bible once a year (or at least the entire New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs). There’s something about checking off my daily reading that keeps me on track. No matter how getting into the Word works for you, ask Holy Spirit to speak to you through that time and He will.
2. Talk to the Lord. It doesn’t matter that He already knows everything you’re going to say. The “talking it out” is for you. Close your eyes and use your God-given imagination to see Him sitting across a table from you. Or keep them open and believe He’s sitting right there with you – because He is. Some people prefer to talk aloud, some in their hearts. Some prefer to write rather than speak. I’ve done it all and it is all helpful. It mostly depends on my mood or what effort I can muster or whether I’m alone enough to feel I can speak freely. I will say that talking out loud, at least for me, seems to be the most cleansing. Oh, and I almost always enter into this time with Him while sipping coffee…but that’s just a personal preference. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance anytime you feel stuck. It’s His joy to help you draw near to Jesus.
3. Linger and listen. This step is so vitally important that I couldn’t possibly stress it enough. And this step sometimes takes a little more time than we’re willing to give but is always worth the wait.

If having coffee and talking with Jesus (the Step 2 of this approach) is His sweet way of coming down to our earthly atmosphere to show us we’re loved and cared for, then lingering in His presence and listening for His voice (the Step 3 of this approach) is His way of transporting us up and OUT of this earthly realm so we can spend some time with Him in Heaven and be recharged. Don’t you need a recharge?

Linger and listen.

Everything you need is found in Him but life can be one great big distraction. God has to lift us up and out of our circumstances for us to see that. He has to give us a heavenly perspective so we’ll receive the wisdom and strength we need to move forward. Don’t get stuck. Allow Him to take you by the hand to a place where there is:

No catastrophe.

No fear.

No confusion.

No hopelessness.

No “God’s mad at me”.

He’s not mad at you. And He wants to spend this daily precious time with you.

For me, I’ll know I’ve entered into the atmosphere of the “secret place” when I feel everything shift in my heart. What once looked overwhelming begins to look ridiculously small. And then I’ll begin right there in my heart to worship Him. It’s the kind of worship that just flows out of me – without any trying. It’s like, all of the sudden, I’ll feel my spirit begin to dance.

Guys, our daily building of this beautiful relationship with the Lord matters. It matters more than the very air you breathe but you can’t really see that clearly until you enter into the secret place. The Lord is LOOKING for people who will do this with Him so He can bestow them with gifts immeasurable and with the VERY best gift of all: the gift of Himself. He’s looking for those who will enter into spirit (experience) and truth (the Word) so He can show them that their troubles are opportunities to acquire His strength and joy. Trust me, in the light of His love, everything looks different. And as we allow ourselves to linger and worship Him there, we are made new. It feels amazing and restores like nothing else and you will walk out of that time equipped and often, much lighter. Adopting this as a daily practice is what gives us a non-fleeting contentment, which is something the world can never provide.

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (see 2 Chronicles 16:9)

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

I hope this excites you to get to that place with Him. Put aside all distractions to make it possible — God will help you find a way. The enemy will try really hard to keep you from this time but he has no real influence in the light of God’s truth. Refuse the enemy’s manipulative tactics by remembering he is a defeated foe. And ask God for wisdom and help in getting alone with Him so that you may enter in and simply enjoy being His.

And for you super busy friends who can’t enjoy the benefits of “quarantining”, this process doesn’t have to take more than even 15 minutes a day. Once you experience it, you’ll want to linger longer. But just do what you can with the little time you have and He will bless it. That is His promise to you.

Blessings to you as you seek His heart in the secret place. He’s waiting for you there – to show you the kind of love that will shift your atmosphere. You’ll find it when you choose to hide in His perfect embrace and then, when you feel strong enough to step out into the world, you’ll carry it with you.

Because of their faith in him, their daily portion will be a Father’s help and deliverance from evil. This is true for all who turn to hide themselves in him! – Psalm 37:40, TPT

When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High, our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm. – Psalm 91:9-10, TPT

God, your wrap-around presence is our defense. In your kindness, look upon the faces of your anointed ones. For just one day of intimacy with you is like a thousand days of joy rolled into one! – Psalm 84:9-10, TPT