In the Secret Place of the Most High

An Introduction from the Author Living in the “Secret place of the Most High” – that is possibly the ultimate in living for Christians in today’s world. Living in such a place (and its existence is more real than just about anyone realizes) means to live without frustration, anxiety, depression, worry, fear, stress, disorder – to live instead the abundant life Jesus came to give us all – this should be the desire of all of us. The key to living in the secret place of the Most High is to be stewards in everything instead of being owners in anything, which means to surrender all our “rights” to ourselves over to Him. Jesus is Melek, which is Hebrew for “King”. Jesus is the King, and we are His kids – instruments in His masterful hands to do with as He sees fit. The Bible says: For none of us lives for himself and none of us dies for himself; while we are alive, we are living for the Lord, and when we die, we die for the Lord: and so, alive or dead, we belong to the Lord. It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Romans 14: 7 – 9) Only by living as stewards will we reach our full potential in this life, free from disappointments, broken hearts, and anger, because we know that in all things He works together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8: 28) As His kids, we know He wants His best for us in all things, not just in some things, but in all things. To see everything in our lives as being of Him and for Him means to stop struggling to hang onto things (only to lose them along with a lot more) and to be thankful that He is able to care for that which is His own. After all, the only real function of a Christian is to be a container for the Lord. It’s all about Jesus. There isn’t a single good thing in any of us apart from Him. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. (John 15: 5) We do not seek to win in a situation or circumstance simply for victory’s sake. Instead, we seek Jesus who is our victory. This is the highest victory, one which we achieve in the secret place of the Most High, a spiritual stronghold that makes victory total and complete. In Christ, we receive all that His name implies. We become joint heirs with Jesus to all the kingdom of God. To experience this means to enter into the rest of faith – the Lord’s faith. There is no need of stressing or struggling to occupy our energies, but simply resting in His finished work and just allowing Him to be all He wants to be in us and through us. We can have perfect confidence in God’s love for us, never taking offense at Him for His way of molding us into His image and likeness; instead we are convinced that He is achieving His purpose in us and that His perfect will is being done. The end result is an incredible win, many true examples of which are found in this book. These examples are inspiring and stunning enough to have recently made quite an impression on inmates at a maximum security prison. They were unable to put the book down as their hearts burned with hope in the heavenly Father. This is impossible for an author to do, but for God it was no problem. Just like it will be no problem for Him to take whatever it is you’re going through and use it to glorify Himself and accomplish a win for you that will make your life better through this “problem” than had the “problem” never occurred to begin with! God has the power to bring more goodness out of your difficulty than if it had never existed. Not only does He have this power, He is willing to use it on your behalf. Such a victory from God, expressed in constant praise, assures us of His continual presence, for He says He lives in the praises of His people. Yet you, the Holy One, who make your home in the praises of Israel, in you our ancestors put their trust, they trusted and you set them free. To you they called for help and were delivered; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. (Psalm 22: 3 – 5) The Bible in Hebrew calls God “Elyon”, meaning “Highest” or “Exalted One”. This emphasizes that He is the highest in every realm of life. He is “Adonai” or “My Lord”, fully in control and “Shaddai” or “Almighty” which means He is able and willing to act in your best interests in every situation imaginable. The Bible says: You who live in the secret place of ‘Elyon, who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai, who say to ADONAI, “My refuge! My fortress! My God, in whom I trust!” (Psalm 91: 1 – 2) CJB In some Bible translations, the word “dwell” is used instead of “live”. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “dwell” as not only “to live in”; it also defines “dwell” as “to keep the attention directed on someone or something”. When we live in the Lord’s “secret place” spending our nights in His “shadow”, we are keeping our attention directed totally on Him. By doing this, we will experience a peace, comfort, safety and purpose well beyond what anyone or anything else in this world could possibly give us. Scripture says: Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 6 – 7) As we will read in this book, when we live our lives in praise and thanksgiving, regardless of how a situation looks, we are magnifying God, not the problem. As human beings we were designed to magnify Him, giving Him honor and glory in everything. When we keep our focus upon our Father we find an inner peace, a safe resting place (refuge) and inner strength (fortress) that truly become for us “the secret place of the Most High” in which we can live or “dwell.” He becomes for us our “Migdal-Oz”, which is Hebrew for “Strong Tower.” Now let’s be practical. (The Lord wants that of us, believe it or not!) How can focusing more on the Lord instead of a difficult circumstance help us, practically speaking? And assuming it does help us, how can we even keep this focus, especially if we are going through trials that seem to be mercilessly pushing us over the edge? How can we keep our focus on the Lord when our pain is so great that even making it through an hour is a life and death struggle? We can keep this life – saving focus on the Lord through God’s mighty power and love for us, all of which we can tap into with proper prayer and the many resources God provides us with, which we will be covering in the chapters ahead. Don’t worry; this book is filled with real life examples of God’s resources saving people going through some of the worst case scenarios imaginable. I promise to be practical in this book. Know that God says: Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light. (Matthew 11: 28 – 30) And: If you call to me in trouble I will rescue you and you will honour me. (Psalm 50: 15)