The Secret Place
Would you rather listen than read? Listen here.
Cacoon
Do you remember when the movie ‘Cacoon’ came out? I was young and not allowed to watch it, but I remember walking into the room where others were watching it and seeing people get in and out of the peanut shell looking cacoons. That is all I remember from the movie. Yet, anytime I hear the word cacoon, that is the first thing that comes to mind.
In The Spirit
John is in the Spirit watching scene after scene of visions unfolding before him. I cannot even imagine the overwhelm of emotion he must have felt. Seeing things from judgements and plagues, to the twenty-four elders and four living creatures worshipping. There are just no words for that type of experience.
“Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness.”
Revelation 17:3 NIV
This scripture is right in the middle of the vision where God is showing John, the Whore of Babylon. He is seeing the evil of the world at its peak and yet, we read, “The angel carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness.”
Stop for a moment and let this sink in. John is seeing the worst of the worst and I picture this angel picking his awestricken body up and carries him away. I imagine this, not like the cacoons of the movie, but a cacoon like a wrapping of God’s spirit around John. A protective presence around him as the angel takes him to a place in the wilderness.
The Secret Place
With my community group, we had a time for them to ask my daughter about her recent trip to Paraguay and what she learned at the discipleship training school. She shared incredible story after story and then someone asked, “Were there times when it got hard and you wanted to quit? And if so, what did you do?”
She said there were many times she wanted to call it quits and catch the next flight home, but she would take some time when she could and go to the secret place with God. There, she would journal what struggles she faced and prayerfully asked God what to do next.
Pride may have peeked at that moment, but the words “I went to my secret place with God” grabbed my attention more. What is this secret place? I have not yet asked her what her definition of it is, but I know what mine would be. It is that place you go, not physically, that you and God meet. A place your spirit goes when you pray.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalm 91:1 NKJV
Prayer
When we pray, I think there is so much more that happens than we can ever imagine. Prayer shakes the spiritual world. Through prayer, God heals, He sets the captives free, and more than we can fathom. When we pray, whether in a group or on our own, there is a place we meet with God. A place where humanity and the supernatural connect and God hears our heart and sets things into motion.
When I read this scripture of the angel carrying John in the spirit, all I can imagine is this spirit filled cacoon like presence that is much like our secret place. Have you ever experienced anything like this before? Where are places you go where you feel closest to God? Please share in the comments.
I will share a couple of with you. I shared before about my Jewish prayer shawl. You can read that here. There are times I need to feel something physical and I will wrap this shawl around myself while I pray. There is nothing spiritually special about it. It just feels symbolic of His presence.
When I was in school, teachers would have us lay our heads down and go to our happy place. I know this was a way for the teacher to have a little quiet time, but every time the Lord took me to this same place. It was a field of tall grass with yellow flowers. In the field was a log house that I never went in, but it always piqued my curiosity.
One day while visiting my horse, I walked out into the pasture and noticed all the yellow flowers that had bloomed in the thigh high grass. I looked at my precious horse standing by the original log home on the property and realized I was there. The place God had shown me over and over, the place I always went in my thoughts and there I was physically standing in it 30 years later. This is a picture of that field, but at a different time of year, so there are no flowers.
My Secret Place
My secret place can be sitting with my prayer shawl, or visiting my horse, or hiking in the mountains, or driving in the car. Any place we focus our thoughts on the King of kings and Lord of lords and share our heart with Him can take us to the secret place. The place where mountains can move, questions can be answered, and miracles will never cease.
I encourage you to take some quiet time, go to your secret place, and just see what God might reveal to you.
Bible Gateway Plus is where I do most of my studying. I love all the commentaries and other resources.
I think it is important to have that special place where we go to be alone with God. Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture of yours.
It’s a joy and blessing to find that secret place where we can be in God’s presence. Sometimes it’s hard to get there or we don’t feel worthy to be in His presence, but He’s always there, waiting for us. Oh, how blessed we are!
I think it is so important to have a secret place to hide away from the world and let God and His angels minister to us. I find mine in nature but sometimes a quiet place in the house works just as well. Thanks Jennifer
God’s presence–there’s nowhere I’d rather be. You’re right that we need to be intentional about going there. Blessings, Jen!