“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)
The secret place of the most High is both a refuge and a retreat. It is not a place we go so as not to engage with our often painful existence. There, in God’s presence and with His help, we work through our thoughts and feelings in order to re-engage our life – not as we’d like it to be, but as it is.
The life that we live before men is only as good as the life we live before God. Going to Him with all we go through makes all the difference in our life. He is our Comforter and Counselor. He will listen to all we have to say, and knows exactly what we need to hear in return. The Psalmist could say: “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.” (Ps. 119:92)
Our hearts are often like the raging sea – agitated, roaring, ready to destructively pass over their proper bounds – and so need God’s tempering influence upon them. How can this happen when we don’t have a strong habitation to resort to and receive the word which will still the storm? “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” (Ps. 71:3)
We err if we think prayer is simply a way to get God to work outside of us. More often than not, the saving work needing to be done is within us. We need to be kept back from the folly of our own way. We simply can’t do life without God.
The devil’s vacation will never equip us to face life when we return. But the retreat we take into the secret place of the most High God will give us all the fortitude we need to face all that lies before us. Make the presence of God your “comfort zone,” your “happy place,” the one thing you cannot and will not live without.