Where is the Secret Place?

Psalm 91:1

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

It's hard to pick a "favorite" part of the Bible. I often tell folks, "This is my favorite verse (or passage, chapter, book, character), right up there with all the rest of them. And it's true. I love the word of God. But if I had to pick my favorite Psalms, three come immediately to mind. One would be the 90th, the Psalm of Moses which I blogged about yesterday. One would be the 139th, which tells me just how well God knows me and loves me. And one would be the 91st, because of its promises of power and protection.

That being said, where is the secret place of the Most High? Have you ever thought about it? The Psalmist says the secret place is darkness, or the Lord's tabernacle, or the source of thunder. Solomon says it is the cleft of the rock. Ezekiel says thieves want to break in and defile it. Jesus says that's where we should go and pray...in the secret place. But at its most basic, the secret place is the presence of God, wherever He chooses to reveal it.

He who lives in the presence of God lives in His shadow. WOW! What a great place to be. And it's not a "secret place" as in a place of enigma and mystery. It's not a hard place to find. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as His temple, we can constantly be in the presence of God. When we read or hear His Word, we are listening to His voice. When we praise Him, we build a place for Him to come down and dwell in our midst. When we call upon Him, he answers. When we seek Him, we find Him. The presence of God is as close as you want it to be.

But there are times when, I have to admit, I don't want to be in the presence of God or when I wish I wasn't in the presence of God. His presence is sometimes too clean, too holy, too exacting, too demanding for me to bear. But that is where I long to be. In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures ever more! His presence overshadows us when we are living in relationship with Him, and we need to let His presence cover us and cleanse us.

For if we live in His presence,
He will deliver.
He will cover.
He will defend.
He will watch.
He will love.
He will lift.
He will exalt.

He will save!