The Secret Place
A secret place for things.
In ancient times, towers and castles were built high on a hill or a mountain. Protection from enemies and a view for miles was accomplished by these places. Towers built high and lofty provided security within the walls. The Towers served as a place for watching for danger and a place where one was kept safe.
The Secret Place
Psalm 91 tells us about the Secret Place where we can hide and abide. It’s the place with the Most High.
You know what I’ve discovered about this secret place? It’s with me everywhere I go. I don’t need to squirrel away in my recliner or a corner of a room to get in this place. In fact, I don’t need to sequester myself in my bedroom, away from everyone else to be in this Secret Place. I can hide in it any time. This secret place is a place of rest even when storms are around me. I can rest in the whirlwind.
In the book ,The House in the Sky, a reporter is held captive for years. She survives emotionally and mentally by focusing, not on what is happening to her, but on her “house in the sky”, a place to which she “escapes” to survive. I learned something from reading this book. Her place of refuge and lifestyle was totally different from mine. Yet the lessons I learned from her perspective and outlook help me in finding my refuge in Christ. For this author, finding refuge became mind over matter. That’s how it needs to be with us. We can find refuge in the middle of turmoil, unrest, and fear. We do this by taking our minds to that place of Refuge. Everything we say and do stems from what takes place first in our minds.
Our refuge
No one can take our refuge from us unless we choose to allow them. Like the air we breathe, our secret place of refuge is with us everywhere we go, if we choose to live inside that refuge.
When others notice our calm in the middle of whatever is happening in the world around us, it’s because they are drawn to that quietness and rest. As believers, we have something the rest of the world cannot claim: a refuge and respite in the middle of turmoil and strife. There’s no peace like it because it comes from being near the heart of God.
When life is more difficult than we’d ever imagined, we can go to that Secret Place and find peace. I’m so grateful.
