What’s Your Secret Place?

Yesterday I had the honor of meeting with Jordan, a Spirit-filled woman of God whose podcast, The Olive Press, I listen to regularly. (If you check it out, start at the beginning with Episode 1.)

Among many things, she talked about the value of having a “secret place.” 

The term “secret place” appears many times in scripture, and, depending on the translation, is also referred to as a shelter, covering, or dwelling. But, more than a physical location, a “secret place” is a state of the soul that ushers in the manifest presence of God. (Unlike God’s omnipresence, or attribute of being everywhere at once, God’s manifest presence is a personal encounter with the Lord that requires a heightened level of awareness.) In our “secret place,” we escape the chaos of the world, quiet our hearts, and commune with Jesus.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

Jordan encouraged me to pray about my secret place, and it didn’t take long for God to reveal that mine was the water. It’s where God has comforted me in my pain (I took up swimming in 2018), where He spoke to me clearly at a recent spiritual retreat (at Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia, Maryland – see images below), and where I can trust He’ll continue to show up.

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Images by Jen Roland @ Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia, Maryland

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(Not) coincidentally, this morning when I arrived at the pool, my underwater mp3 player was dead. For the first time in months, I swam in silence.

Prior to getting into the water, I was reminded of my conversation with Jordan, and I prayed for God to show me whatever He wanted in our time together.

The first thing that caught my attention was the thin, black line down the center of my lane. Only three tiles wide, these fine lines serve as guides to help swimmers stay straight. They are intentionally dark to stand out.

Similarly, the path to Jesus, and to following God’s will, is long and narrow, but it’s not hidden. In fact, it’s clearly marked in His Word.

If you live in the United States, you reside in the richest country in the world where the average household has 4.3 Bibles, yet only 11% of Americans read their Bible daily. (That is a huge disconnect!) Those who claim to be Christian yet have not read—or choose to ignore—God’s directions to get to their final destination are deceiving themselves. 

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

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Halfway down the lane, the depth of the pool begins to increase. Going through these deep waters is required to reach the “finish line”—the cross at the end of the lane.

God highlighted that, just a few feet before the cross, the line lanes stop abruptly in a T-formation. For the swimmer, this alerts her to the fact that she is nearing the end. But, for the believer on her spiritual journey, the lack of clarity and guidance in this season can make her feel like she’s been abandoned. Here, in the deepest waters, God feels distant.

If you are here now, my heart goes out to you. I’ve been there too, and I know it’s incredibly hard.

To make matters worse, in these times of spiritual desolation, the enemy will try to attack. When we’re just inches away from the cross of Christ, he’ll tell us our situation is hopeless.

Here, we must reject the notion that we have been forsaken by God. We must not turn around and go back, or give up, but forge ahead toward the cross as planned. (I’ll be talking more about this in my upcoming workshop on discernment this Thursday, November 17th. You can click here to join my private Facebook group and tune in LIVE to “What’s Discernment Got to Do With It” at 2 PM on November 17, or you watch the replay.)

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2

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After only ten minutes of swimming, I had to get out of the pool to grab my phone so I could record all of this. 

When I resumed my workout, the Holy Spirit encouraged me to focus LESS on what I could feel or see, and more on what I KNEW to be true. 

Here’s what He brought to mind: At the deepest point of the pool, where the break in the line occurs, we are closer to Christ than we could ever imagine. Like the story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14:22-33, when he became afraid, started to doubt, and cried out “Lord, Save me!,” immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him (Matthew 14:31).

Jesus was right there with Peter—within arms reach—all Peter had to do was grab hold of His Hand! And, He is right there with you too! He understands what you’re going through, He is not distant from your pain, and He wants to lift you up to level ground.

I am here now, taking hold of the Hand of Jesus and sharing the message that you can live victoriously in Christ, regardless of your circumstances (1 Corinthians 15:57). You may grow tired and weary and think you can’t possibly make it, BUT GOD will not let you down. He will not let your drown. He is with you and for you!

Before I left the pool, I took some photos to use for this post, and you better believe I got some weird looks from the lifeguard!

There will always be people, when you speak of things of the Spirit, who will count it is foolish. 1 Corinthians 2:14, KJV says, “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (Which brings us back to the topic of discernment…Make sure you join my group to watch this teaching on 11/17).

To a man or woman of God, the things of the Spirit of God are not foolish. They are life! They are meaning! And they are EXCITING!

Jordan assured me that God would be faithful to reveal Himself when I met Him in my “secret place,” and He sure did! (There were other, more personal, revelations too, but in this post I shared those I believe would resonate with you!)

I stopped so often to record these revelations that I only swam a fraction of the distance I normally do. But you know what? God didn’t care! He values a life of devotion and awareness toward him over a productive one that is oblivious to his presence.

My hope and prayer is that you will find your own “secret place” and cultivate a heightened awareness of God’s presence in your life.

Ask Him. He will be faithful to show you! You can also download this free quiet time study, In Your Secret Place, to gain victory in your Christian life, persevere through trials, and run with endurance the race God has set before you.

Call to Action: What’s your “secret place” where you commune with God? If you have one, share it in the comments! If not, spend some time in prayer and ask the Lord to show you. If you found today’s post helpful, you can sign up here for weekly encouragement to live victoriously in Christ.