I was reading recently, from the Biblical book of Philippians in Piper’s old “The Way – The Living Bible” – originally given to her by one of the women’s circles at her home church about a year before we got married. The particular scripture in chapter four, verse thirteen, was well underlined and simply notated in her handwriting “JESUS” in the margin next to it. Here we find the Apostle Paul sharing from the depths of his heart as he wrote:
“I have learned the SECRET
of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger,
plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of
Christ who gives me the strength and power.”
Once again, the thought of “SECRETS” and “The
Secret Place” caught my attention and I began to pray about it and look
up other versions and other scriptures that talk about it. The 1906 S. Way translation of “The
Letters of St. Paul to Seven Churches and Three Friends with the Letter to the
Hebrews” has Paul saying in Philippians 4:13 that
“I am schooled… (and
therefore) I have mastered the SECRET of living – how to be the same
amidst repletion and starvation and privation.
I am equal to every lot, through the help of Him who gives me inward
strength.”
The Psalmist also wrote from his heart and experience
declaring:
“In His shelter in the day
of trouble, that’s where you’ll find me, for He hides me there in His holiness.
He has smuggled me into his SECRET PLACE, where I’m kept safe and
secure—out of reach from all my enemies.” (Psalm 27:5 TPT)
As I meditated on these and other scriptures in the Bible
that discuss this subject, I began to understand that because Piper and I ran
to the shelter of God and His Word at the first diagnosis of what we were
facing back in 2007 (according to Psalm 27:5), God smuggled us into His SECRET
PLACE!
And the more I thought about it and the experiences that
unfolded over the ensuing eleven years, I realized exactly where our SECRET
PLACE was. For us it came to my
attention as I was preparing for my first sermon presentation in my Pastor’s
Preaching Class in Bible College in the fall of 2007.
I’ve written of this on many occasions before, so I won’t
go into a lot of detail, suffice to say, that as I studied about how “You
will know Christ's love*, which goes far beyond any knowledge…” from
Ephesians 3:19 in my newly discovered God’s Word translation, I heard the Lord
speak to me in that “still small voice”** deep inside of me.
As I stopped writing at my computer and quieted myself
down, the Lord began to talk to me about the intimate way in which He
loved Piper and I, and directly compared it to the way that I
intimately knew and loved my wife. He
went on further and made an analogy between the degree of His love for us with
some very special, personal and meaningful things we enjoyed... that we're only known to us. He made a very strong point with
me that I never forgot and called back to my remembrance in the
worst of the times that were to come.
Thinking on the specifics that God had given me that
morning in 2007, I had the revelation earlier today, that The Secret
Place that many writers of the Bible talk about can be different for
every person. Then while
reviewing my Bible Study notes as I sat down to write this post, I also
realized that,
Our SECRET PLACE is
our point of contact with God’s Grace!
I can see now, that God was VERY SPECIFIC to
me by using an example that was VERY SPECIFIC and VERY
ENDEARING to Piper and I… so that I could have a strong connection and
understanding with Him and the truth that He wanted me to know… when the
winds were blowing and the waves were high in my life… without any
question or doubt.
You see, God knows and loves each of us more than any of us
can comprehend… and He wants us to know that, especially when the chips are down! That is why, I believe, that He will give each of
us very personal and specific examples of His love
that will have a strong, unique and special meaning for each of
us.
So, when the really tough times came for me during
Piper’s final journey on this earth, His SECRET PLACE for me
brought me into immediate CONTACT WITH HIS GRACE and gave
me whatever encouragement, physical, emotional and spiritual wisdom
and strength that I needed at that moment to get up and keep doing what He (and
Piper) needed me to do!
And… like I keep saying… If He did it for me, He’ll do it for you!
Isn’t God Good!
Have a great weekend and as you do… keep EXPECTING
God’s best for your life.
**See: I Kings 19:11-12
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