“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalms 91:1).
The theme for the month of January was, “Songs of Victory.” In February, it was, “Soaring on Eagles Wings.” This month, the LORD wants us to come and dwell in His Secret Place! Psalms 91 is about refuge and God’s protection, security and safety, wherever the beneficiary may be. What an amazing passage; filled with wonderful hope and lots of promises. Interestingly, Satan also knows the psalm and he memorized it for quotation in a devious manner during the temptation of Christ, which is documented for us in Matthew 4.
To understand the phrase, “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High,” one must look at its composite parts individually. In Hebrew, ‘Most High’ is the word ‘El-yon’, meaning “the Supreme One”, “the Owner of heaven and earth,” and “the God Who Is over and above all things that are.” The secret place of the Most High is a hint of where God wants every believer to be. If we can understand what this means, we will be a long way toward the fire and purity of revival. In order that we might understand the secret place better, the LORD Jesus Himself came to reveal to us the mystery and unlock the door. He says, “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you” (John 15:4). It does not take a very brilliant person to make the connection between Psalms 91 and John 15. The language is the same. Read John 15, then go back and read Psalms 91 again. All those words – abide, dwell, live – they all mean the same thing. “He who dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” goes right together with “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.”.
That secret place is literally one of physical safety and security, but access to it is conditional. This gives us the most intense illustration of the very essence of personal relationship. Man has no innate, inbuilt shelter. Alone, he stands without shelter against the elements and must run to the Ultimate Shelter himself. In verse 1, God is offering us more than protection; it is as if He rolls out the hospitality mat and personally invites us in. However, He also lists the conditions we must meet before mentioning the promises included in His part of the bargain. That’s because our part must come first. To abide in the shadow of the Almighty, we must have first chosen to dwell in the shelter of the Most High.
SIGNIFICANCES OF THE SECRET PLACE:
The first significance is that the place is secret and, therefore, not known to everyone. It certainly is not to the liking of everyone. Secret might mean hard to find or simply difficult to get to. For those who desire to get to the secret place, these points are immaterial. This secret place is somewhere close to the Most High, the Almighty. That is a dangerous place to be. When God met Moses on the mountain, He told him that he could not look on His face as it would mean death. He put Moses in the cleft of the rock and placed His hand over him as He walked by. Even this fleeting glimpse of the Ancient of Days caused Moses to glow with the glory of God. To be in the secret place is to be pure in heart and clean of hands as Psalms 24 ascertains. No sin can be there. We are also intended to glow with God’s Glory!
The second significance is that we are to dwell there! To “dwell” means we live there. It becomes our address. God invites us to pack up and move to His secret place. Moses only had a brief time on the mountain being really close to God. What glory to live next to the Almighty, right in His Presence! Our permanent abode is to be in this secret place. This is not a call to abandon your wife and children 24-7 for 365 days – our God values relationship! Rather, you are to do your best to bring them there along with you, as the head of the home (Joshua 24:15).
To dwell also means we walk away from the clamor and enticements of the world. We must be willing to quiet our hearts before Him and allow Him to investigate those inner secrets we reveal to no one else (Psalms 139:23-24, 19:12-14). Secret places imply honesty and trust. We cannot join God in His secret place unless we are willing to be transparent and honest with Him.
BLESSINGS OF THE SECRET PLACE:
When we choose to leave behind the world’s delights in favor of a lifestyle of continual spiritual contemplation, God draws near in new ways (James 4:8).
We begin to see our sin the way He does (Isaiah 6:1–5). Time spent in the presence of God reveals our true thoughts and selfish motivations that might otherwise go unnoticed.
From this secret place, the fruit of the Spirit takes root and grows (Galatians 5:22-24). We start to see our lives from an eternal perspective. Earthly frustrations lose significance.
We start to enjoy the LORD’s stored up goodness in the secret place (Psalms 31:19-20). He will break all obstacles in our way.
Gives to us the treasures of darkness and the wealth of the secret places (Isaiah 45:3). That implies that all the resources that God has for us is there.
We can access all the riches in Christ, we can access all God has for us there. Wow! I want to be in that place!!
The key to moving there is a total surrender to the Holy Spirit and to God’s will for our lives. This decision consequently dominates our actions and changes our outlook. As we obey, God meets us in His secret place (John 14:21). He teaches us and encourages us to remain. If our lives are to bear lasting fruit, the power to bear that fruit comes from time spent with Him on the basis of the choice to surrender fully to Him in the secret place (John 15:4–5; 1 Corinthians 3:14–15; Psalms 92:12–14).
The prime reason the Holy Spirit came was not just to quicken and save us (John 6:44-45; 1 Corinthians 1:18,21). He desires to have intimate relations with us and be the source of fire and zeal within us (2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:23,26, John 15:13-15). Oh, that we would cling to and seek Him in the secret place; seek His fire, His fullness and His Presence. Seek Him for His love and Presence alone. Seek Him in humility and brokenness. You will not be disappointed. Let revival start with you.
Prayers:
- Bless His Majesty, His Holy Name – Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Elohim, All knowing, Powerful, Sufficient, The Monarch of the Universe, Ancient of Days, Rock of Ages, etc. Simply worship Him.
- Ask the LORD to draw you closer and let you hear, see and obey Him. Pray that your soul will indeed pant after the LORD (Psalms 42:1-2).
- Holy Spirit, please sustain me in the place of closeness to You that I may continue to enjoy the bounty of heaven. LORD Jesus, please shield me from every power that causes a leak of blessings from my life, in Jesus’ Name.
- Father, please send Your fire to destroy every altar erected against my ability to continue to preach the Good News, in Jesus’ Name (Acts 23:12).
- LORD, as I dwell in Your secret place, I pray that no unbeliever around me will outshine me, in Jesus’ Name. I shall be found to be better than the best of them around me, in Jesus’ Name (Daniel 1:19-20).
- Father, as I dwell in Your secret place, let my ears be opened to the voice of your Spirit, in Jesus’ Name (Revelations 2:29).
- Holy Spirit, please shield my eyes away from things that will misinform my heart, in Jesus’ Name (2 Samuel 12:21-23)!
- Thank you, Holy Spirit, for answered prayers, in Jesus’ Name!
