The Secret Place
Wade E Taylor

“Deep calleth unto deep.  At the noise of thy waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.”  Psalm 42:7

The psalms of David are filled with the heart-cry of a man seeking for a deep personal relationship with the Lord Himself.  Again and again, David expresses a burning desire to know the Lord intimately on two levels of experience.

First, he desires to know the Lord face to face.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”  Psalm 42:1- 2

Second, he desires to know the Lord as one in whom he can put infinite trust.

“In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”  Psalm 56:11

He was not satisfied to know the Lord merely as a distant Saviour, or as the King of Kings who could do great things for him.  David greatly desired a personal, intimate communion and walk with the Lord.

When David came short of this experience, he repented before the Lord and expressed his intense desire to know Him:

“I acknowledged my sin unto you, and my iniquity I have not hidden.  I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”  Psalm 32:5

Now, David was set free from all guilt and condemnation and could say:

“You are my hiding place; you shall preserve me from trouble; you shall surround me with songs of deliverance.”  Psalm 32:7

Then the Lord, in this new level of relationship with David, spoke to him and gave him this very encouraging promise:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.  Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.”  Psalm 32:9

David's repentance had brought him into such an intimate relationship with the Lord, (I will guide you WITH MY EYE) that David could feel the very purpose of the Lord concerning him.  Then, the Lord exhorted him to be responsive and obedient to this newfound relationship and guidance.  “Do not be like the horse or like the mule.”

We desperately need this clarity of Spirit led guidance and protection among the Lord's people today.  As world pressures increase, we must heed this exhortation in His Word to make Him our portion.

Psalm 91 promises deliverance and victory in the time of trouble to “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high...”  We must clearly hear this with our spiritual ears, then appropriate these words into our being and digest them until they become personalized within us.  The Lord will have a people who will chose Him for Himself alone, apart from what He can do for them in blessing and provision.

There are many distracting influences that can draw us away from a true, sincere devotion to the Lord.  These forces have power over us, but only through our own choosing or allowing.

We must be made consciously aware of the fact that the Lord does not over-ride our wills.  He calls, draws and leads us, but we are given the freedom to choose in every area of our life.  We must even choose to respond to His wooing of our hearts into this place of a “secret abode of intimacy with Him.”

The “pulls” away from this secret place are many.  There looms the desire to be successful, or to be recognized; to find earthly security, or to make provision against what might happen.  All of these things will obscure Jesus if we allow them to.

We easily forget His promise in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  Here, Jesus is saying, “Do not fear, in me you may have peace.”  He has promised to care for us, for He is the Shepherd and we are His flock.  In Him, we partake of all that He has won, as we have need.

If we are not receiving His care and protection, it is because we have either chosen the wrong dwelling place, or have set our affection on something other than Him.  When this happens, He patiently waits, ready to help us, as we turn to Him.  His word to us is that we find “the secret place” where He dwells, and make this our real home.

David erected a tent on Mount Zion for God to dwell in, but David's heart became the Lord's abode as this earthly King opened up his being fully for the King of Kings to enter in.  The Lord said that He would reward those who seek Him.  This reward is God Himself, nothing can compare to this eternal treasure.

In Romans 8 we are presented with exhortations, promises and the marvelous word that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (to them who make Him their secret abode).  Then comes the encouraging word, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

We must put our trust completely in Him and seek the place of rest in His presence.  As we do this, we will be eternally satisfied.