Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Secret Place

by Clint Byars
Forward Ministries

Clint Byars - Forward Ministries
Do you have a "secret place" where you withdraw to commune with God? You may have a special place in your home or you may have an imaginary place that you visualize. The experience of a secret place is very powerful in developing an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Often times when I'm counseling people I will take a little time to help people "see" Jesus and hear what he has to say to them. This is a powerful exercise that usually helps people realize they have the capacity to connect directly to their Lord with just a little focus.

The good news is believers are never separated from Jesus, we only get distracted by circumstances and emotions. Finding your secret place can serve as a place where you go to shut out the world and imagine that you're in Heaven or some place where you're safe with God.

Even if you don't have a physical secret place or you have a hard time connecting with God in your heart, you can rest assured that you are right in the middle of the secret place that Christ has created for you through his death, burial and resurrection.

Take a moment and think about this passage:

Psalm 91:1 He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

What a promise!

But have you ever asked, where is this secret place? How do I actually abide under the shadow of God? Is this poetic or can it be literal? I say there is a literal, spiritual reality to this promise. Keep in mind the psalmist didn't know what it was like to be born of the spirit (born again). He didn't know what it was like to be indwelt by the spirit of God. He hadn't been raised with Christ and seated in Heavenly places in Christ. He wasn't yet the kind of being that is hidden with Christ in God. To him it was a mystery. These passages from Colossians 1 speak to the mystery of this secret place the psalmist prophesied about.

"I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:15-27

The secret place is actually within you. The mystery of the secret mentioned in Psalm 91 is that Christ has taken up residence within you! You don't have to try to find where God is hiding and you don't have to coax his spirit our of the shadows. He is in you. You are actually God's secret place. For ages the prophets sought to know this mystery and we now have this treasure within us.

Paul then tells us how to experience this secret place:

Colossians 3:1-2 "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden WITH Christ IN God."

Say it out loud with me, "I am the secret place of God because Christ lives within me. I am hidden with Christ in God. In this place I am safe."

Take some time and listen to this full length message where I talk in detail about these ideas.


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