The Secret Place

Psalm 91:1-2″He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

So, exactly what does it mean to dwell in the Secret Place of the Most High? Well honestly for a long time, I didn’t put too much thought into what dwell or the Secret Place meant except that it was being in relationship with God. However, to dwell in God’s Secret Place means much more than that and it’s much more than just going to church on Sundays, attending a small group, praying when we are in trouble, or just reading your Bible. According to Vines dictionary, the word dwell means to “to sit down, settle down, to remain fixedly in a place. To me to dwell denotes a posture of surrender, submission and rest in God’s presence delighting in Him, longing to know Him intimately and learn from Him. The picture that comes to mind when I think of dwelling is Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus looking up at Him eager to learn from Him and be near Him. Like Mary we can choose to dwell in the Secret Place despite the distractions of life longing to hear from him, commune with Him, and learn from Him. To me to dwell is to seek God and submit to His will daily, it’s talking to Him about everything, it’s continually fixing your heart, attention and thoughts towards Him, it’s seeking His direction and guidance instead of being wise in your own eyes, it’s being filled with and led by His Spirit, and relying on His strength not our own. It’s trusting Him even when we don’t understand, it’s choosing obedience over comfort, and it’s letting go of control and letting Him take the lead. It’s praying, worshiping, hearing, reading, and doing His Word, listening for His voice, participating in the ministry he has called us to and walking with like minded believers. Finally, it’s looking to Him alone to provide all our needs, protection, safety, and security.

Well now we have a better understanding of what dwell means, what is this Secret Place and where is it you might ask? I believe that this is the inner sanctuary where God Himself resides. Some scholars suggest it’s the Holy of Holies, the Mercy seat, God’s temple, and the Psalmist refers to it as His tabernacle, pavilion or His House. It’s the place where God translated here as El Elyon, sits enthroned in His glory, brilliance and beauty lifted up above all creation. I love this name for God which means the Lord Most High God which implies that He is Highest, He is Supreme, Sovereign and in control of all. The amazing thing is that although He is all these things, He humbly lowers Himself and beckons us to enter into this place to fellowship with Him and hide away from the worries and cares of the world. I feel that it is in the Secret Place where we can truly find refreshing for our weary and thirsty souls, satisfaction for the deepest longings of our heart, joy, peace, strength and find wisdom and guidance by His Spirit for our lives. So it’s not a physical place for us per se but a spiritual position that when we choose to dwell that we have the privilege of being seated in the heavenly places with God because of our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Sadly, I think many believers are missing out on the Secret Place either because they don’t know it’s available or they think it is for a special group of people, however, it is for every believer who longs to know Him more and is willing to invest time in pursing God with everything they have.

Psalm 91:1 part 2 “Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.“

So what does that mean to abide under the shadow of the Almighty? Well abide is different than dwell. Remember dwell means spiritually sit down in the presence of God but as we continually do this, then we begin to abide or take up permanent residence under His shadow, the shadow of the Almighty where we are covered, protected, and shielded from the heat of the battle and the raging storms. Almighty is translated El Shaddai and means that God is all powerful and all sufficient.  When I think of the Almighty’s shadow, I think of a mother eagle with its mighty and powerful wings spread over her young to protect them from predators and danger providing food, shelter, and all their needs are met. So, then we are like those young chicks concealed and covered under God’s powerful wings from our enemies and from the weight of life’s trials, always being provided for. 

Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust”

In this next verse, the psalmist is making a profession that because He dwells with the LORD in the Secret Place and has experienced the blessings as a result that he is confident that God is his refuge and fortress, and he can trust Him.  Like the psalmist, I believe that as we dwell, this should be our declaration as well. But what exactly are we professing? Well  The LORD here is translated Yahweh revealing himself in a personal and relatable way as He did to Moses when He called him to deliver his people out of Egypt. So even though He is the Most High, the Almighty, He is Yahweh who desires a personal relationship with us to which we can respond by trusting and declaring this truth. So what does it mean for God to be our refuge and our fortress?  KJV dictionary defines refuge as shelter, protection, sanctuary, and inaccessible to an enemy. For me then refuge is a place to run to when I am afraid or in danger, a place to find shelter in the storms of life, and to hide from the enemy.  Fortress is defined as a fortified place or a place of defense so I think of the Secret Place as a well defended strong impenetrable barrier like the military that the enemy’s arrows can’t pierce and where we are shielded from his attacks. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we won’t experience life’s troubles, storms, and trials but when we do God protects us from the full weight of them bringing us peace, comfort, rest, and safety in the midst of them knowing that whatever troubles God allows it will always be used for our good and His glory. Finally, we can declare that He is My God because of our intimacy with Him, we know without a shadow of a doubt that God is for us that he cares, provides, protects and that He is faithful and can be trusted fully and He is our friend.

Well, I don’t know about you but these truths about God brings me great comfort and peace knowing that not only is He creator, He is Highest above everything and the Most Powerful but that He also welcome us with open arms as a tender father and a friend into His Secret Place offering us shelter, protection, security, and provision and a hiding place away from the cares of the world. However, this is only a taste of what is in store for the dwellers in the Secret Place, there are so many more benefits to being a dweller which are outlined in the rest of this passage below but I feel that these beginning two verses are the key to understanding and receiving them. For me though the best part of dwelling in the Secret place is being close to God, experiencing His peace and joy not found anywhere else, its knowing He has my back at all times, it’s knowing that I can talk to Him anytime I want and he listens, it’s waking up with a song in my heart as He is singing over me, it’s knowing that he will deliver me out of all my troubles, and that everything that ever happens to me has to pass through Him and everything will turn out for good and for His glory! So for me, the Secret Place with God is where I want to be where I find peace, joy, comfort, and safety and He is waiting there for anyone who wants to come with open arms to welcome us in.

91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and ^]buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
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.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

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