The Secret Place

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  

-Psalm 91:1-5

This Psalm was read at my Great-Grandfather’s funeral. At the time, when it was read, I didn’t like it – it just didn’t resonate with me, or maybe I was too upset to really take notice of it. But as I read it tonight, I began to understand why people in my family like it. My favorite idea of the passage is “the Secret Place.” The vision of God’s wings shadowing over someone, bringing them shelter and peace and protection…

Mondays are my biggest days. I usually put my creating choregraphy job that I have to have done by 4 o'clock every Monday until about 3 hours before I leave for work, and on top of that I’m helping my homeschool family clean and cook and learn and I'm making sure my dog doesn’t run over into the neighbor’s yard/bark too much and I try get some workout time in and if I’m feeling ambitious I even do my Photoshop homework… Anyways, it’s insane. But, always always before I head to work, I lay in bed for 10 minutes so I can just calm down before going into the fray of little girls and echappes. Today while I was lying down, I picked up my copy of Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman and read today's devotion.

It was about “The Secret Place” – the place that where you can come so close to God in prayer and spirit that you know it’s just you and Him. No distractions or anything. This was the leading verse: “He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as beight as a flash of lightning… Peter and his companions…saw his glory.” - Luke 9:28-29, 32. Earlier last week, I read a verse similar to this in Exodus (I think); it was the verse that talks about how radiantly Moses’s face shone when he came down from Sinai because he had been in such close contact with God – it literally blinded people. It just got me thinking about prayer and God’s presence and how it affects us. When we draw near to God, he draws near to us, and his light consumes us, and then we shine radiantly…it’s just mind-blowing, you know? One of my favorite lines from the devotion was:

“Who of us in certain moments of meditation and prayer have not caught a glimpse of the heavenly gates? Who has not in the secret place of holy communion felt a surging wave of emotion – a taste of the blessed joy yet to come?”

I don’t view prayer the way I know I should. I have access my Creator every moment of every day, and yet I consider a morning and late night prayer “enough.” Why do I settle for that when I could find my soul in the quiet Secret Place where God will tell me the unknown things and show me what I can’t see?

I know for some people (sometimes me), it feels like every day is one of my Mondays. It doesn’t seem logical to think that you could fit in closing your bedroom door to pray for half an hour when you have so much to do in one day. But I know I have to commit myself more to finding the Secret Place. Martin Luther had the “upper room”, I just need to find my place and time of quiet I guess. Even on Mondays. :]

For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

-Psalm 27:5