“He that dwells in the secret of place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1
It is an amazing truth that the believers of the Old Testament, especially those who have contributed to the writing of the Scriptures, have known God in much the same way as believers today. One of those ways was seeing and believing God to be not only their refuge, but their very dwelling place. To believers then and now Christ was found to be always in the secret of His constant presence. To the Old Testament believers that quiet place was a Sanctuary, one likened to the temple of old, the certain place where God could be found, and known, that is, if the believer came in faith according to God’s ways. For the New Testament believer, there is the additional aspect of not only a place where God is found in the quietness, the certainty of His presence, but the very union of Christ with the believer, so that His presence, and one’s communion with the Father, the Son, by the Spirit, is more fully known. Not only is there the peace of God’s presence from without, but for the Christian, it comes from within by the indwelling Spirit. The same peace that the believer of old would know in the difficult circumstances, and opposition to his faith, the Christian would know by the indwelling Christ, His peace more fully revealed. But how does one in this day and age, with so much that is in opposition to faith, know the peace of God, and in particular, that fellowship and communion with Him in the quietness of His presence, especially by Christ dwelling in the heart?
To begin to learn what it means to live “quietly” in Christ, we must always begin with Christ, first by His example when He walked this earth, but then by His power, that power of the resurrection which is given to every believer by the Spirit, and this, in order that he should know Christ’s quietness, calmness, and ever-deepening fellowship with the Father. Jesus spoke of this place of communion with God, that place of aloneness and quietness, when He said, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in the secret will reward you openly.” (Matt. 6:6) Jesus makes it so very clear that when the seeking soul is willing to meet the Father alone, seeking Him by faith, the Father will reward him. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews affirms this by writing: “…for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (11:6) What is this “reward?” Jesus, in John’s gospel, in speaking of having His commandments, and obeying them, said: “…he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and manifest Myself to him.” (14:21) God’s reward is the revelation of Christ by His Spirit to the heart and soul. Christ, the Father, and the Spirit, become a living reality to the believer, because God’s presence is revealed in many ways, and this openly. It is certainly by the reading and studying of the Scriptures that God speaks to the heart, and unveils the unsearchable riches of Christ, to be known by the Spirit, and communicated to the world.
As to the issue of Christ’s presence in the quietness, the believer is called to abide in Him, live by His peace, regardless of the circumstance. Indeed, the Apostle Paul writes that the peace of God is act as an umpire, granting the believer the discernment of whether something is of God or not. There is also the appropriation of Christ’s blessed calm of mind and heart, much like David when he wrote concerning being led by “still waters.” For the one who will live daily abiding in Christ, there will be the increasing experience of quietness, confidence, and strength.
Dear Father, Grant us Your calm. In Jesus’ name, Amen.