Even after many years of being a Believer, it still blows me away just how high we can go with Him!
We should all be striving to go higher and into the secret place...as He reveals many facets of Himself to us more and more.
My friend John Belt shares this about the authority given to us as we dwell in the secret place:
I hope this encourages all of you in your pursuit to always go deeper in your relationship with the Lord. There is so much more He wants to show you! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
"Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:9-11)
God invites us into His secret place to spend time with Him. It is the highest invitation of all with incomprehensible benefits for our lives. The Lord understands us better than we understand ourselves. The entire concept of promises is hinged on our response to His offer. God knows that we need benefits. "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all of His benefits..." (Psalm 103:2).
"Jesus showed us how to be the aggressor rather than the victim. The devil was the victim as Jesus cast him out every where He went." |
It is natural for us to look for things that are beneficial to us. I don't think that's a bad thing, for God made us that way. When our hearts are given over to the Lord and His plans for us, He causes amazing favor to invade our lives. Just as a father gives his child reward, God is the ultimate rewarder as we seek Him. Jesus further clarifies this by telling us that if our earthly father, being evil, would give good gifts then how much more will the heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask (see Luke 11:13). God wants us to recognize Him as our source. He wants us completely dependent on Him. This is why He gives us promises so that He can show Himself faithful to us. He wants us to know just how good He is.
A Higher Place
The secret place has amazing benefits for us. Let's not forget His benefits (Psalm 103:2)! "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
I love how this passage shows us that it is not just the secret place, but the secret place of the "Most High". God has so many names that describe who He is. In this verse He describes Himself as the "Most High". He is not the "Least High" or "Kind of High" but He is the "Highest of Highs"! He will make our feet like the feet of deer where we can ascend to His high places – where we can scale the mountains as His overcomers (see Psalm 18:33).
When you associate yourself with God you are connecting to Him who is the Most High, who is higher than the heavens, who has higher thoughts, higher plans and will help you to see things from His highest perspective.
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
He calls us to live out our lives in faith – even the faith that overcomes the world because Jesus overcame the world as our forerunner. Even so, He invites us to "dwell" in His secret place. He doesn't just want us to visit, but to dwell. We are not to walk in then walk out, but to stay there, dwell there, and find our habitation and satisfaction in the presence of God. He who "dwells" there shall abide in His shadow.
Abiding in His Shadow
God has His own shadow. Typically shadows don't have positive implications, but God's shadow is more than good for us. When we dwell in the secret place of His glory, we are hidden in His shadow. What that means is that the enemy cannot find you in that place. God has the greatest refuge, shadow and place of protection that we could ever find. You have been a shelter Lord, to every generation (see Psalm 90:1). (Photo via Unsplash)
He is the strong tower. His shelter and His shadow hides us from the enemy of our souls. We find our refuge in Him. This is not to be head knowledge alone, but a reality of His Kingdom manifested in our lives. This reality comes by dwelling in the secret place.
Discovering the Secret Place
"But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:6)
Don't you know that Jesus set the example for us as the one who dwelt in that secret place of the Most High? He showed us an even greater power from dwelling in that secret place in the New Testament realities. Jesus taught that as we go to the secret place, that our Father "who is in secret and sees in secret" will "reward" us openly.
Jesus teaches us to "shut the door" and go into the secret place. You need to shut the door. Sometimes it is busy all around and you simply cannot find a room – it happens. Still you need to "shut the door". God is into twenty-four-seven Heaven in our lives. You can close the "door-lids" of your eyes and find Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is there in your "inner room". The Father is there in that secret place of your heart where it is just you and Him. He will see your accessing Him in that secret place of your heart and reward you openly.
Jesus lived in that open reward as we can see how the Kingdom of God was pushing back darkness at every turn in His earthly ministry. He showed us how to "dwell and abide" in that secret place where the shadow of God completely covered Him from every attack. Jesus showed us how to be the aggressor rather than the victim. The devil was the victim as Jesus cast him out every where He went. Jesus knew the power of the secret place, the place of being hidden in God as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. He lived in complete righteousness, love, joy, peace, rest and freedom as He was the firstborn of many brethren – the Son of God to go before many sons and daughters, namely us (see Romans 8:29)!
Kept and Delivered From Trouble
The word "hidden" is interchangeable with "secret" in the Hebrew. Its is the same word that is used for the passage where God is identified as the "Hiding Place".
"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
"When our hearts are given over to the Lord, and His plans for us, He causes amazing favor to invade our lives." |
Have you ever had "trouble" before? God can preserve you from that trouble! There are troubles you don't need to have. Obviously we have trials because we are moving upstream in this world but when we learn to dwell in God, finding that hidden place in Him, we can alleviate many troubles that are unnecessary. It does not mean trouble will not come, but He can keep you from the effects of it. But that's not all...He will give you "songs of deliverance!" In Exodus 15:11 we see that Moses had one of these songs when they crossed through the Red Sea escaping the armies of Egypt.
"Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:
"'I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.'" (Exodus 15:1-2)
Moses sang this song of deliverance. God will give you one too, either before or after your deliverance! God is totally into freedom. He is opposed to oppression and wants you to realize the authority that you have in Him. Don't be timid with the devil. Get rid of any common ground and kick him out! And it's OK to laugh in the process.
God Gives You Authority
"Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'" (Luke 10:17)
When Jesus empowered His disciples to cast out demons they came back with joy, telling Jesus about it, because of the demons being subject to His name. There is a healthy, natural joy that comes when you begin to realize the authority that you have over the Kingdom of darkness in His name. You've been given the authority of His name and when you dwell in the secret place, spending time with the Lord, you have the power of His Spirit to cast the devil out anytime and anywhere. You need to know this.
Joy is your portion, your inheritance and birthright in the Lord. God wants you to shine forth with the joy of His goodness. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes, showing us that we will be "blessed and happy" as we engage in the realities of His Kingdom. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Rejoice in God always (see 1 John 4:4 and Philippians 4:4)! (Photo via Unsplash)
The Almighty
Know as well that when you dwell in Him you will also abide in the shadow of the "Almighty". If you look a little deeper at the root word of "Almighty" it means, "All Powerful One" or even "The Destroyer". This is to remind you that there is "no weapon" that can be formed against you that will prosper – because when the devil messes with you he is messing with HIM (Isaiah 54:17)! Our God is the All Powerful One, who arms us (Psalm 18:39) and truly is armed for battle and can take out any opposition.
"So he answered and said to me:
'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:
"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,"
Says the LORD of hosts.
"Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!"'" (Zechariah 4:6-7)
Dwell in the secret place; be hidden in His shadow. Move up to higher places and receive His higher thoughts where God will give you greater authority as His own ambassador for His Kingdom and glory (2 Corinthians 5:20)! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
John and Brandi Belt
Overflow Global Ministries
Email: office@overflowglobal.com
Website: www.overflowglobal.com
John and Brandi Belt are the leaders of Overflow Global Ministries. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence. This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.
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