The Value of the Secret Place
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). The secret place is a dwelling place. Go there daily and you can “abide” in Yahweh’s protective shadow. The secret to a victorious life is an abiding life. Don’t settle for religion - enjoy spending time with Abba. My niece, Rachel Shafer, shares a powerful word and fitting pre-Thanksgiving testimony regarding the importance and benefit of living in the secret place. Rachel says:
“Recently, Holy Spirit whispered to me, ‘Don’t forsake the value of the secret place.’ I was instantly gripped in my heart and began pondering the statement.
“One of the meanings of value is ‘the regard, importance, worth, or usefulness of something.’ It also means ‘to consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; to have a high opinion of.’ (1)
“The word forsake means ‘to abandon, renounce or give up.’ (2)
“Holy Spirit was urging me to remember the importance and benefits of the secret place, to value its worth in my life. What an awesome reminder for us as we continue navigating these challenging times.
“In the New Testament, Jesus instructs us to go to a quiet place, a secret place, a room with the door shut when we pray (Matthew 6:6). He set an example for this by often going away from His followers to spend time alone with God. In Matthew 14, Jesus received the terrible news that King Herod had ordered the beheading of John the Baptist. Upon hearing this, verse 13 in The Message version says ‘He slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by Himself.’
“Faced with tragic, heartbreaking news, Jesus knew He needed to get away to be alone with His Father. If we want to be infused with strength, grace, peace, hope - we need a secret place.”
I (Dutch) cannot begin to recount the many “secret place” encounters I’ve had with my Father, with Christ and with Holy Spirit. The infusion of strength and confidence that comes from it is indescribable. Philippians 4:13 (AMP) says: “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”
Rachel continues, “The secret place causes us to become more aware of God’s presence. And in His presence we stop focusing on our problems, and begin seeing His answers; we gain His perspective. We see as He sees and can begin to say what He says. In other words, the secret place enables us to approach our situation with wisdom from above.
“Several years ago, I walked through one of the darkest moments of my life. Our youngest son, Jaidin, was having a surgery related to his cleft palate. The days after the surgery were a whirlwind of one thing after another going wrong. Jaidin couldn’t breathe on his own and had to be intubated. He could no longer walk, or even sit up on his own. He couldn’t swallow and was being fed through a feeding tube.
“No one knew why. Doctors could not figure out why this was happening. It was heartbreaking. Jaidin was sad, mad and frustrated. And we were too. Finally, on the 11th day I woke up with words ringing in my heart, ‘Jesus’ blood never fails me.’ Later that day we received MRI results. The first words out of the neurologist’s mouth were, ‘This is not the news I had hoped to share with you today.’ The MRI showed that Jaidin had a lesion on his brain where the nerves were located that control swallowing and affect strength and balance. This gave us answers, but definitely not the answers we were expecting or wanted!
“The doctors continued talking, telling us Jaidin might never regain his swallow or the complete function of his left side. They showed us pictures and explained different scenarios. At one point, I was feeling completely overwhelmed - it was information overload. I put my hand up and said, ‘I need you all to stop.’
“I ran out of the room down the hallway sobbing. I had to gather my thoughts and emotions. I knew that I needed secret place time with Jesus. I needed a higher perspective. I sat on a small couch in Jaidin’s hospital room, crying and praying.
“It was in those moments I remembered I had awakened that morning with the words, ‘Jesus’ blood never fails me.’ His blood always speaks a better word (see Hebrews 12:24). Was I to think differently now that we had the MRI results?
“No! The hope I have in Jesus is an anchor to my soul. I allowed Jesus to minister to my heart and Holy Spirit was able to encourage and comfort me - from the secret place. I had taken a few moments to get into His presence right there in that little hospital room.
Jesus’ blood didn’t fail me and Jaidin recovered FULLY!
“I value the secret place experience I had during that time. My prayer for each of you is that you will build a history of secret place experiences, encounters that will teach, change, shape, and empower you with God-breathed words you can speak into situations and times of testing. Also, that you would value the secret place reward of His presence.”
Pray with me:
Father, we honor You today, setting our hearts, souls and gaze upon You. We value our time with You, Lord. We know You desire to speak to us every day—guiding us in spirit and in truth. As we listen to You and obey Your Word, we can enjoy an abundant life. You invited us to come boldly to Your throne of grace to find help any time we have a need. We cherish those times with You. It is then that we recognize You as Abba, Papa.
We know that our Abba is also the all-powerful, living God. We decree Your power into our situations and circumstances. Break into lives. Transform and restore broken hearts, souls and minds. Heal bodies, homes, and nations. We put our circumstances and times into Your hands, knowing that You hold the power to turn them all for our good.
We will pursue you, Abba. We’re after Your heart. May Your will be done in our lives, our regions and all across this land. America shall be saved; revival is coming to the earth! Amen.
Our Decree:
We will not forsake the value of the secret place. We are a people pursuing the presence of the King.
Today’s post was contributed by Rachel Shafer. You can learn more about Rachel and her story here.
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Click on the link below to watch the full video.
https://www.google.com/search?q=value+definition
https://www.google.com/search?q=forsake+definition