Finding God's Secret Place: A Spiritual Journey

Finding God’s Secret Place: A Spiritual Journey By Joy-Ce-C

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FINDING GOD’S SECRET PLACE: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

JOY-CE-C.

Finding God’s Secret Place: A Spiritual Journey

Table of Contents

Preface: Laws of Attraction, Creating Your Own Success, Blah, Blah, Blah Introduction: Finding God’s Secret Place and Dwelling There Chapter 1: How Do You Get to a Place That Has No Location? Chapter 2: Why Is It “Secret”? Chapter 3: How Do You Dwell in a Place That Has No Place? Chapter 4: What Is the Shadow of the Almighty? Chapter 5: Why Abide Under a Shadow Chapter 6: Dwell, Abide, and Say Chapter 7: What Is the Real “Secret” of All ‘Success’? Conclusion: There is Only One Secret and It’s No Secret!

© gjc, 2009, all rights reserved

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Preface: Laws of Attraction, Creating Your Own Success, Blah, Blah, Blah

Thirty years ago, I learned all about the laws of attraction and creating my own success. I spent hundreds of dollars on books that promised great financial success if I just followed a few simple steps that usually involved visualizations, repeating certain positive phrases, and focuses my thoughts on my desired outcome. Well, I did have some success. I cleared a place in my apartment for a piano and imagined seeing a piano in the space. Then, while walking through the mall, I stopped at a music store and bought a piano. It cost me $1100 dollars and was my first financed purchase. By the time I finished paying for it, it cost well over two thousand dollars with the interest. I also used the techniques to get the city bus which had no

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designated stops to stop where I wanted it to. But I never got the kind of financial success promised by the authors of all those books. These same ideas have been re-packaged with new names and new authors and are selling to a new generation of people looking for success. Well, take it from one who’s been down this path: wealth is not acquired by reading books. The only ones who get rich this way are the ones who write the books! Sure, I believe good things are attracted to those who have a strong conviction and great confidence in their ability to succeed and who can visualize the outcomes they hope to achieve. But people who do this don’t need a book to show them how it’s done. My favorite psychologist, Abraham Maslow, studied successful people and found out that they are selfactualizing; meaning, they have scaled the hierarchy of needs and reached the zenith. These people don’t need to read a book to know that they control their destiny and can achieve what they believe because they’re doing it. If you need to read a book to do this, you can’t do it. It’s as simple as that. So, then how do the rest of us find success? Well, although I didn’t find it in the latest “new thought” bestseller; I did actually find it in the biggest bestseller of all time: the Bible. Two verses from a Psalms have helped me find the only kind of success that lasts, spiritual success. The first two verses in the 91st Psalm are my road map to success and those scripture

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have helped me deal with depression, financial loss, and grief. These kinds of debilitating obstacles must be defeated before one can have the confidence that allows one to see oneself as successful and actually believe in one’s ability to achieve. I have reached that point in my life, thirty years after reading books that promised me wealth, by returning to the book that promises me so much more and has delivered on that promise.

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Introduction: Finding God’s Secret Place and Dwelling There

“1. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’” (Psalms 91: 1-2, KJV). I recently used these two verses to praise God when I was so distracted by an annual malady called S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder, I could not even say a convincing, “Hallelujah!” It came out more like “(sigh) Hallelujah (sigh)…” Because I share most of my travails with my friends online, one of them, Lori, prayed for me and was given the

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following prescription for my ailment: 1. praise God; 2. get out in the sunshine and fresh air; and 3. take Vitamin D. I did all of the above and a week later, I was soaring on the wings of eagles! But it all started with those two verses. Since I first became acquainted with the 91st Psalm as a Christian, I’ve longed to find God’s secret place and make it my home. I’d have flashes of what I felt after getting over the S.A.D. – great euphoria and overwhelming elation - and mistook that for the spiritual state that is God’s secret place. But I was wrong. That’s was only an artificial, temporary, poor substitute for real joy. It’s called mania and it’s the flip side of the depression that people with bipolar disorder fluctuate between, going from highs to lows sometimes at astronomical speed. I know about bi-polar disorder because I was reared by my grandmother who apparently had this mental illness. She was never diagnosed, but since I grew up and studied behavior psychology and actually worked as a behaviorist, developing behavior support plans for people with developmental disabilities, I’ve surmised that my grandmother’s highs and lows had to be bi-polar disorder. When high or manic, she was gentle, loving, and full of the kind of energy that people have when they’re high on amphetamines. I couldn’t keep up with her and she was well into her fifties

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when I went to live with her at the age of seven after my grandfather died and she convince my parents that she needed to have someone with her so she wouldn’t be alone. When low or depressed, she was a rage-filled, irritable, nagging tyrant who made my life a living hell, verbally and psychologically abusing me. Years later, I found I suffer from a mild form of depression which was probably a severe form of that disease when I was a teen and consumed with thoughts of suicide while maintaining a straight “A” average in school, suffering from migraines, and wound up so tight, had I not broken that cycle when I went to college, I’m convinced I would have ended up the psychotic serial killer I wrote about in a one-act play whose plan was to kill every black Baptist minister in her town who cheated on his wife to work out her own father issues. This was me working out my issues with my adulterous Baptist minister father, of course. But the point of the play was that this psychotic woman could have been me had I not ended my grandmother’s hold on my mind and emotions. I still suffer from bouts of mild depression (not the debilitating melancholy that overshadowed my adolescence) and have manic periods, but they are not followed by depression, so I’m not really bi-polar. I think

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my mania is just an increase in serotonin. However, what it’s not is the spiritual state that takes one to God’s secret place. I have been there. I recently spent over seven glorious months there when I retired from a fulltime job that had me stressed out in much the same way I was in high school (only this time I was much happier because I loved my job, the work I did, and the people I worked with) plus a part time job that I also loved but kept that me busy working on weekends. I had been going non-stop seven days a week for eighteen years. When I got the fulltime position, I was singing in a group that took up my weekends, then after I returned to college to work on a post-graduate degree, I quit the singing group and joined a theatre group, and as soon as that slowed down a bit, I got my third part time job as a reporter at a local weekly newspaper. Prior to working fulltime, I had two part time jobs, so for nearly twenty years, I was going nonstop. Meanwhile, I put off the things I longed to do – write novels, plays, poetry, short stories, songs, etc. – until retirement. Well, last year I retired and started working part time as a consultant in the field of developmental disabilities. The first thing I did was to write a curriculum guide for staff working in adult day habs for people with developmental disabilities. It was published recently and I’m starting to get orders for it. The second thing I

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did was re-write a play that I first wrote twenty years ago. Then, I completed a novel, finally, after starting several and never finishing any. It will be published soon. I wasn’t always aware of the joy and peace that I felt; it was just part of my new persona, a discreet and silent aspect of my unfettered life that settled over me like a warm glow and kept me calm and completely at ease. But sometimes early in the morning or late at night when it was very quiet, I would bask in that joy and peace and thank God for it. This continued for seven months until winter came and I found myself restless, irritable, and ill at ease in the throes of S.A.D. It wasn’t until I left the secret place of the Most High that I realized I’d been there and that I’d been there for longer than I’d ever been before. It was then that I knew that in order to find God’s secret place, I had to lose some things. When I retired from my fulltime job and got a part time one, I lost 50% of my income, plus the small salary I earned writing for a small weekly newspaper, most of which I spent on transportation costs getting to and from coverages. I also lost my health insurance, dental insurance, and life insurance. I have since purchased dental and life insurance, but still do not have health insurance. And I lost sick time, which I couldn’t even give to anyone else, as well as the ability to take off work for a vacation or sick day and still get paid.

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So, having lost so much, how did I feel such joy and peace – not the giddy high of mania – real joy and real peace? Along with all of the other things I lost, the most important thing I lost was the stress that kept me from being able to reach the spiritual state that is God’s secret place. That’s what this book is about – how I found it and how I’m going to keep connected with it now that I know where it is and how to get there.

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Chapter 1: How Do You Get to a Place That Has No Location?

You can’t use a GPS or MapQuest to find God’s secret place, but you can find written directions on how to get there if you look in the right place. (Psa 27:5 NASB) For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. (Psa 31:20 NASB) Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man; Thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

Psalms 27:5 says God will “conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me” and Psalm 31:20 says “Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man” and that “Thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.” 12

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These two verses seem to indicate that God’s secret place is first the holy tabernacle, which was a tent when the Israelites traveled and a “shelter” or refuge from “the conspiracies of man” and “the strife of tongues.” So, God’s secret place, if we are to follow this scriptural map, is the refuge we take from those who persecute, abuse, and plot against us or, in modern times, the politicking, scheming, and underhanded maneuvering of the work place. Exactly the world I left when I gave up fulltime employment! Why do we need to leave these places in order to reach God’s secret place? Because God’s secret place is first of all a place of peace and there is no peace in places of strife and stress. I’m not advocating that anyone leave a job that supports you and your family; however, you must have time away from the stress of the work to luxuriate in the peace and tranquility of God’s secret place. I was fortunate enough to find a stress-free part time job working with Christian people. That doesn’t mean there aren’t those who “conspire” or that there is no “strife of tongues” at my place of employment; even among Christians there are those who create disharmony. However, the people at the top, the CEO, Chairman of the Board, and HR Director, as well as most department heads and many of the staff are in harmony with each other and with God, and it shows. I’ve never worked in an environment with so little stress, back-stabbing, deceit, and duplicity. As

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I’ve stated, these things do occur, but not to the extent and with the high degree of animosity they do in the agency where I was previously employed. However, I did not find God’s place on my own. I had to ask for His direction. When I did that, I found peace immediately in His secret place. The joy came later. Remember, peace comes first because without peace, there is no joy. I had to find peace because I was faced with turmoil, prompting my decision to retire. I could have reacted differently, but I chose to seek peace rather than conflict. I realized I needed peace much more than I needed to continue working under stress. The peace came immediately, transporting me to the outskirts of God’s secret place. It was the joy that took me inside the city limits. That joy came when I realized I didn’t have to worry about earning a living. My last day at the fulltime job was officially May 30, 2008, and by the following Monday, I had the consultant job. All I had to do was call and ask. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7

This is what happens when you seek out God’s people. The man who hired me is a minister of God and the CEO of a company, a powerful combination. That’s when joy, unspeakable joy flooded my soul, not in a manic state of euphoria, but in a quite, wave of happiness. I went to work

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and have been at peace, filled with joy ever since, except for the two months I was afflicted with Seasonal Affective Disorder. But I’ve returned to God’s secret place now and it’s going to take more than S.A.D. to move me out again. I expect to be living there a long time. Still, how do you get there? I got there by giving up my stress. What are you willing to give up to get there? “Access to the Holy Place and The Holiest of All during Passover, Pentecost, and Atonement required a blood­offering. The blood­offering was the price at which entry to the Holy Place and The Holiest of All was made. The Holiest of All is the place of the ‘secret of the Lord.’ The place of secrets, therefore, is inaccessible apart from blood­ offering. Every blood­offering in the Old Covenant opens to us the ‘place of secrets’”  (Mark Chironna, “The Secret of the Lord,” Mark Chironna Ministries website,  www.markchironna.com )

Christians know that the blood of Jesus substitutes for blood sacrifice,  but that does not mean we are not excluded from making sacrifices.  The  sacrifice is not God taking away something from us, but us giving up  whatever stands in the way of us reaching His secret place.  You can’t get  there if you’re mired in stress, confusion, despair, or, as I was recently, 

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depression.  God’s secret place can only be reached when we give up those  things.  But how do you give up your feelings?  You can’t help how you feel!  When you’re in an environment full of stress, under distress, confused, full  of despair, depressed, and feeling down, how do you “give up” those  feelings?   Sometimes, like me, you have to change your environment;  however, it is very possible to give up feelings of stress, confusion, despair,  and even depression and remain in the environment where those things  abound.  I’ve witnessed this many times. One of the most striking examples was a wonderful Christian woman I  used to work with who faced one of the worst periods of her life when her  husband, who worked in the same agency, not only betrayed their marriage,  but did it with someone at work.  The woman divorced her husband, but his  mistress, who’d gotten pregnant by this woman’s husband, while the divorce  was still pending made sure she was assigned to our facility where she came  twice a day, flaunting her pregnant body for my co­worker to see.  My co­ worker never stopped smiling.  She stayed in God’s secret place the whole  time.  She was under stressed which was revealed by a severe loss of weight,  16

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but she never stopped smiling and she never lost her peace or her joy.  That  smile was not a facsimile or a forced smile that she put on to save face.  She  truly felt joy because she knew she had done nothing wrong and that the  woman who sought to embarrass, disgrace, demoralize, and humiliate her  was not worthy of her anger.  She defeated this woman by retreating to God’s  secret place where “no weapons” formed against her were able to prosper  and, as a result, the efforts of an adulteress to bring down a Godly woman  failed miserably.  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. -Isaiah 54:17

I will never forget the way my Christian sister showed the world Christ  during that time and it was her example, as well as the positive examples of  many other co­workers at my work site who had prayed with me and for me  during difficult times that enabled me to genuinely be at peace when I left  the agency without any rancor or malice.  Even in the most stressful  situations, there are those who can rise above the strife; seek those people  17

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out at your work place or wherever you experience stress and derision and  join with them to form a Christian union that will be far more powerful than  any forces of evil that come against you.  Do the same thing when facing confusion, despair, or depression.  Many people are experiencing these emotions right now with the loss of  jobs, homes, and the money to support themselves or their families.  It is  very difficult to let go of such emotions in times of lack.  However, I recently  heard a story about a family that was packing up their home to leave after  they’d been the victims of foreclosure and joyfully went to their neighbors  offering things they couldn’t take with them.  They seemed to have a spirit of  joy and peace about the entire manner.  On the other hand, there are more  and more stories in the news about husband and fathers killing themselves  and their families because of job loss.  These stories indicate that many  people are struggling with evil in ways many of us cannot imagine. However, I think the family that left their home with joy and peace  teaches us that no loss is worth losing residence in God’s secret place where  joy and peace abide.  If only those who chose death over life could have  18

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found their way there and known true joy and peace, those fathers who killed  their families and themselves would have had a different perspective and  never taken such drastic measures.  One of the things I learned when I was a  suicidal teen was to just wait one more day and every time I did, things  changed and I no longer wanted to take my life. However you do it, give up the emotions that keep you from being in  God’s secret place and you will find yourself right there in the center of the  secret place of the Most High without having to buy a ticket, go through a  metal detector, or sit in a cramped seat.  You’ll be effortlessly transported  there as soon as you give up the hindrances that are keeping you grounded.  For those of you who need to visualize, imagine you’re in a hot air balloon  and you want to get off the ground and sail into the sky.  All you have to do  is throw out the sandbags holding the balloon down!  Just throw them out  and before you know it, you’ll reach the sky!

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Chapter 2: Why Is It “Secret”?

Secret usually implies something “special” reserved only for “certain” people. There are “secret” societies with “secret” handshakes and “secret” rituals. People tell “secrets” to a select few people that are let in on “the secret” while the rest of us remain ignorant. The word “secret” has the connotation of “separation” and some lofty notion of “elitism.” However, you don’t have to be part of some elite society or special group to go to God’s secret place. Anyone can go there and all are welcome. God places no limitations on who can come; all you have to do is believe in Him and accept Christ to be part of God’s “select” group. It is not a question of birth, financial status, or education in some hidden knowledge. So, if it is not a “special” place for a chosen “few,” why does God have a “secret” place? “The secret” is not the place, but where you find it and how you get

there. You find it in the spiritual realm. It is not a physical place or located in some mythical dimension. It is a sanctuary, a place of peace and joy. “(Psa 73:26 NASB) My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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(Psa 63:1 NASB) (A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.) O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psa 63:2 NASB) Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory.”

God’s secret place is only secret because it’s not locatable by the normal ways one locates and gets to a “place.” Getting there requires a “special” attitude or mindset, not being “special” or having “special” knowledge. The only way to get there is to be there.  Many of those who give instruction on “thinking” to grow rich, create wealth, or attract abundance, teach this. However, they want us to believe you have to do something to achieve “being.” No, being is being. The “secret” of God’s secret place is being there. Be at peace and you will be transported to God’s secret place instantly. You get there by being there. Whenever you are truly at peace, you are there. However, to dwell there, you must also experience joy. What is the “secret” of joy? My favorite book is Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy, which is also one of the most difficult and painful books to read. However, if you can get through it, you’ll rejoice at the end when you discover that the secret of joy is so simple. Think about joy. It’s not a giddy high or a laugh-a-minute pleasure fest. True joy is much more subtle and discreet than having an uproarious

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time or dancing on air. When you really feel joy, you feel contented, satisfied with your life, your circumstances, your relationships, all that is part of you. I see this in my mother’s eyes as she approaches her seventyninth birthday. She is the most joyous person I know and the most content. She loved my father to whom she was married for over fifty years until they were separated by his death and, like my co-worker, did nothing wrong despite his repeated infidelities. She is truly happy and has a joy that is unspeakable but very real. My siblings and I do everything to preserve her joy because what more could you ask for your mother than to see her happy? I know my mother has moved lock, stock, and barrel into God’s secret place and I’m more than happy to join her there. God’s secret place is a place of contentment, where you remain at peace and full of joy regardless of what is going on around you in the physical realm. This is the promise of Psalms 91:1-2.

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Chapter 3: How Do You Dwell in a Place That Has No Place?

To dwell somewhere is to live there, to take up residence, stake your claim, and put down roots. But how do you live in a place that isn’t a place, but a state of mind? Living in the spiritual realm is a lot like sitting on a cloud: you can’t do it in the corporeal. When you move into God’s secret place, leave your furniture, clothing, keepsakes, and all of your various possessions behind. You can’t take physical objects into the spiritual realm and that includes your physical ailments and emotional problems. You have to leave it all behind when you go there. Your first order of business is to leave all the cares of your physical world behind you when you go to God’s secret place. Now, the bills, the problems, and all of the rest of it will still be there in the physical and no amount of visualizing is going to make them go away; however, what you can do is put them aside while you dwell in peace and joy in God’s secret place. You’ll be surprised that once you reach that spiritual state that is God’s secret place, you’ll be less worried about those bills and all of the

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other problems you may face. You will be able to confront all of it without fear and with an attitude of victory, not defeat. Your faith in God will allow you to see the things that had burdened you as problems to be solved and you will find a way to solve them. How you solve them and how soon you solve them depends on the complexity of the problems you face and your available resources, although, once you’re in the peaceful, joyful state that only God’s secret place gives to you, you may find your problems are not as complex as you believed and that you have more resources than you ever knew you had. There’s this thing that happens to your thought processes when you are content: they become much clearer and more capable of seeing solutions to problems. Try tackling a problem – start with something small – while enjoying the peace and joy you’ll find while dwelling in God’s secret place. Don’t despair if just thinking about the problem moves you out of that place of tranquility temporarily. Just go back there by allowing peace to come into your heart and when it does, let joy flood your soul as you return to God’s secret place. Now, rest there a while. Just dwell there in a state of contentment until all your cares and worries have disappeared. Once you’re completely content, look at that little problem again and see if it doesn’t seem less formidable.

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You may not be able to live in God’s secret place constantly, but you can go there from time to time to find refuge and solace. It is a place where you can take shelter from the storms of your life and it will always give you peace and bring you joy in abundance. Find it and go there as often as you can and live there as long as you need to until you feel able to return to the physical world refreshed and renewed. Even short stays will reinvigorate you and give you a new perspective on things. If you prefer to live there indefinitely, be advised that in order inhabit the spiritual realm, you have to line up your spirit with spiritual laws. You will have to give up hate, resentment, envy, jealousy, deceit, and all manner of evil if you want to stay in spirit. Sacrifices must be made to get there, but even greater sacrifices have to be made to remain there as a permanent resident. Are you willing to give up gossiping, backstabbing, nitpicking, criticizing others, or just having a jealous or envious spirit? Often we think of sin as drinking, carousing, fornication, adultery, theft, lying, and murder. Of course Christians don’t do those things! But what about those sins we as Christians do every day even in church? We stop speaking to people who’ve offended us in some way, talk badly about someone else who’s not living up to our standards of holiness, envy someone else’s good fortune, criticize the

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pastor, stab our friends in the back saying all manners of vile things about them when they’re not around, and just nitpick about everything! Are you really ready to give all that up to take up residence in God’s secret place? If you want to stay there for awhile, you’ll have to. None of these things are allowed in God’s domain and the minute you retreat into these old habits of bad behavior, you’ll be booted right out of the spiritual realm and back into the carnal world of the flesh. Don’t despair if this happens, but do be concerned if it continues to happen. Try to end this behavior and get rid of these old habits. Believe me, you’ll want to stay in God’s secret place and staying there is worth giving up your carnal ways.

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Chapter 4: What Is the Shadow of the Almighty?

Shadows are often associated with evil and death, even in the Bible. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will

“

fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4.

So, if death has a shadow, what is the shadow of the Almighty? First of all, what is a shadow? The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary offers the following definitions for the word “shadow”: “1: partial darkness or obscurity within a part of space from which rays from a source of light are cut off by an interposed opaque body 2: a reflected image 3: shelter from danger or observation 4 a: an imperfect and faint representation b: an imitation of something : COPY 5: the dark figure cast upon a surface by a body intercepting the rays from a source of light 6: PHANTOM

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7, plural : DARK 1a 8: a shaded or darker portion of a picture 9: an attenuated form or a vestigial remnant 10 a: an inseparable companion or follower b: one (as a spy or detective) that shadows 11: a small degree or portion : TRACE 12: a source of gloom or unhappiness 13 a: an area near an object : VICINITY b: pervasive and dominant influence14: a state of ignominy or obscurity.”

Number five is the definition most often associated with the word, although all of these definitions apply and are used by us. However, remember, we are in the spiritual realm and in this instance definition number three is the correct one. The shadow of the Almighty is “shelter from danger and observation.” Obviously, God protects us from danger, but why would he need to protect us from observation: to keep our enemies from seeing our plans and giving them a chance to try to subvert them, both in the physical and the spiritual. God’s shadow, therefore, is exact opposition to the shadow of death, which hovers over a valley. God’s shadow covers us in the high places where He lifts us. Remember Moses on Mount Sinai? He had to go up high to commune with God. What Moses did in the physical, we do in the spiritual every time we retreat to God’s secret 29

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place. Going there means going up higher into the spiritual realm, out of the valleys. Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is “living high.” Abide connotes “staying power,” “longevity,” permanence.” It means that once you make the move to dwell in God’s secret place, you will abide there in His shadow, under His protection forevermore. Think about that. Never having to fear anything because you are firmly rooted in a place where you are under 24-hour security with no access available for those who want to harm you because they can’t even see you. That shadow protects from any danger or from even being seen by the enemy. I’ve experienced that kind of protection throughout my whole life; even when I had shunned God and sought my answers in metaphysics and those books on the laws of attraction, I was under his protection because “somebody prayed for me.” I told you about my mother. Well, that is the praying-est woman I know! Years ago, I did some superficial study of Buddhism, concentrating mostly on Buddhist monks and how they conducted themselves. It takes a Buddhist monk a lifetime to achieve peace and contentment through hours of meditation, fasting, and prayer. I’d put my mother up against the Dalai Lama himself when it comes to praying! My youngest brother was lost to my family for twenty years due to drug addiction and my mother said at first

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she worried about him constantly until one night she went to the secret place of the Most High and started to dwell there, abiding in the shadow of the Almighty. She prayed for Joseph and let go of the fear and worry. My best friend, now deceased, an ordained minister and psychologist, had the gift of prophecy and told me a couple of years before she died in 2000, that Joseph was off drugs, had a wife and two kids, and was working in construction she believed because she saw a muscular man. Well, a couple of years after she died, Joseph called my brother James in Columbus and said he was in college and had just gotten his associates degree and was working on a bachelor’s. He was also the father of two children, a girl and a boy. I was on my way to California to visit my brother, John, and while I was there, we drove to Reno, Nevada, to visit Joseph and his family. I was so glad to see my brother alive and well. Just as Karen prophesied, he was quite muscular, however, he didn’t work in construction. He was a drug an alcohol counselor. Joseph and his family have since moved to Columbus and live next door to my mother and my sister, D’Ebrar. My mother’s prayers were answered. She continues to pray day and night for our family and has shared with me that she’s always prayed for me, so I know at those times when I was in danger, her prayers lifted me up high so that I could abide under the shadow of the Almighty. What a God! He

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protected me even when I rejected Him. That’s why I love Him so much now. He never once left me or forsook me, despite my forsaking Him in my youth. I am only too happy to abide in His shadow now.

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Chapter 6: Dwell, Abide, and Say

Once you dwell in God’s secret place and abide under His shadow, you’ve got to say the words that ‘seal the deal,’ to use the parlance of salesman. “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’” (Psalms 91: 2, KJV). Saying these words are an important part of the whole equation, which has three parts: 1.

Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High

2.

Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty

3.

Acknowledging that the Lord is your a. refuge b. your fortress c. your God

After that, all you have to do is trust Him. But first things first. The only way to sustain your residence in God’s secret place and remain in the protection of His shadow is to proclaim that He is Lord. You must give

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God a place in your heart in order to stay in His secret place. Remember, you’re residing in the spiritual realm and just as you have to pay rent or a mortgage payment to reside in a physical place, you have to pay to dwell in a spiritual place. All God asks is that you pay Him respect. Honor and acknowledge Him as your Lord, your refuge, your fortress, your God. David does this throughout the Psalms, particularly in the 23rd Psalm, calling God his shepherd and the source of all his supply:

Surely gPsalm 23 “ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 1

2

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside

the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for 3

his name's sake. 4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I

will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

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Like David, we need to praise God and acknowledge His Lordship. That’s why praising God was number one on the list of things God told my friend Lori to tell me to do to beat S.A.D. All success in our spiritual and physical lives begins and ends with praising God. We should praise Him in advance for answering our prayers and giving us what we need, then praise Him again when those prayers are actually answered and our needs are met. Praise is the price we pay for dwelling in God’s secret place and abiding under the shadow of His protection. What a small price to pay to live in the most peaceful and joyful place in the universe and to have round the clock protection from the most powerful entity in existence. If you find yourself unable to find the words, do like I did when faced with that dilemma and turn to The Word. Open your Bible to any Psalm and you’ll find praise. I usually turn first to the 91st, then to the 23rd. However, there are so many others that give God glory: Psalms 18, 21, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 41, 66, 105, 106, 111, 113, 116, 117, 135, 136, 138, 146, and 147. Turn to these scriptures and you will never be at a

loss for words to praise God. Another friend of mine, Rolita, has shared the power of repeating things twelve times. I suggest reading any of these Psalms or the portions of them that you want to say twelve times whenever you need an appropriate hymn of praise.

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However, you praise God, do it often and do it with all of the love and passion with which you’d praise a loved one. God is worthy of your praise, deserving of your devotion, and in need of your recognition. Acknowledge His place in your life and He will gladly give you a lifetime lease in His secret place.

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Chapter 7: What Is the Real “Secret” of All ‘Success’?

In the last chapter, the final step in the process of living permanently in God’s secret place was revealed: we have to say that God is our refuge, our fortress, our God, and then just trust Him. Emphasis was put on praising God either with our own words or by using His word. The power of words is unmistakable and unlimited. This is mentioned throughout the Bible. Most of those books I used to read about the “law of attraction” and other such methods that mimic spiritual attainment talk about “speaking” the things you want “into existence.” They maintain that words have power and what you say will come to pass. They are partially right. Your words are powerful and they can change your life and the world, provided you believe them. When you say words that you can’t back up spiritually, you are just speaking, not “creating.” However, just as God spoke the words, “Let there be light” to begin the process of creation, our words said from a place of

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power, God’s secret place, where we dwell in peace and joy and abide under the protective shadow of the Almighty, assured that we are out of danger and the sight of those who would subvert our words and the power they possess, can effect change. Proverbs 18:21 ESV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 25:11 ESV A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

John 1:1 ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

It is with our words that we either build people up or tear them down. I experienced both of these in the roller coaster ride that was life with my grandmother; one minute she was telling me that I could do anything and be anything and the next she was calling me a fool. Her words affected me for a very long time, because being human, we always take in the negative things people say about us and let those sink into our psyche (mind). Even now, I can get a hundred compliments, but it’s the one criticism that I tend to remember and believe. That happens to many people. However, it doesn’t happen to those people that Maslow labeled “self-actualized.” Selfactualizing people put no more stock in the words people say about them, 38

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good or bad, than they do in forecasts of doom and gloom. These people believe in themselves and many of them use self-talk to remind themselves of who they are and what they can accomplish. We do the same thing when we dwell in God’s secret place because that’s the one place where we cannot speak ill of ourselves or even absorb the negative things other people say about us. When I left my fulltime job, there were many rumors that I had been fired. One union officer even stated this as fact in a staff meeting of his department, seemingly glorifying in the termination of a supervisor. In another instance, when I attended a luncheon at my former facility, a staff person had one of the adults with developmental disabilities come over and tell me she was sorry I got fired. I politely told her I resigned from my job and was retiring. I won’t say that these things didn’t bother me a little and I even considered not going back to my old work place any more because of the negative statements. The last time I went there with the folks I work with now for a holiday celebration, a staff person whom I’d already corrected when she told me on a previous visit, “I’m sorry you got fired,” saw another supervisor, who retired the year before I became a supervisor, with me in the room of one of my former staff and said quite pointedly, “Being fired from here seems to be

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good for folks.” I didn’t even respond and my former staff person had a sheepish look on her face that let me know she’d shared things I’d told her in confidence. There was an attempt to fire me because I didn’t complete a class for certification by the time my temporary certificate expired; however, I was enrolled in the class and had firsthand knowledge that previously contract employees had been allowed to complete certification classes so they could continue working or resume working after being terminated because they were not even enrolled in a class. I knew this because I teach one of the certification classes and have taught it several times to people who let their certification lapse without taking a class and who took my class to get their jobs back. However, in my case, I was not given the same consideration as those employees; I’m not sure why, but it didn’t matter. I had a lawyer and could have fought to keep my job, but I knew that if I did that, I’d have to fight to keep it. Instead, I went to God’s secret place and decided to dwell there, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. I resigned, took my vacation pay, withdrew my retirement, and went on with my life. I immediately got a part time job that pays my bills and invested some of my retirement in starting a home health business that’s far

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more lucrative than working for a government agency. Many people felt I should have fought for a job I did well and loved; however, I chose peace. The minute I chose peace over conflict, I moved into God’s secret place. Joy quickly followed peace and I enjoyed the joy and peace of dwelling there for seven whole months before I was attacked by S.A.D. Why did I choose peace over a job I’d had for nearly seventeen years and that paid me a good salary and provided good benefits? Because I knew, as much as I loved it and as good an opportunity as it was for me to affect change in my chosen field, that job was not my source. Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

This is “the secret” of all success. The words you speak only have power if you believe in them. Believing in them means believing in God and His power to make what you say come into existence. I used to say whenever I was really stressed out during the year I was a supervisor, “I’m going to quit and go to (my present employer) and put this place out of business!” Well, I did quit and I did go work for the competition, the agency that gave me my first job in this field and the experience required to get a fulltime job with the government agency. Now, I’m doing everything I can

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to put that agency in the forefront of the field and I believe I will be successful. I wasn’t serious about putting my former employer out of business, but since they compete with us to serve adults with developmental disabilities, along with several dozen other agencies in the area, it’s possible they will some day close one or more of their facilities. If they do, I’ll be more than happy to have any of their staff – including those that spread rumors that I was fired – come work with me because they are well-trained, experienced, and dedicated to serving adults with developmental disabilities. One of the secrets of my success has been learning not to hold onto resentment and I’ve been most successful at that as an adult. Believe it or not, I once held the most resentment for my mother because she sent me to live with my grandmother. However, I later found out my mother suffered a breakdown after the death of my infant sister, followed closely by the death of her father, both of whom she loved dearly. She was vulnerable and quite fragile when my grandmother, like a female Rumpelstiltskin, tricked her into letting her become my legal guardian. It wasn’t all bad; actually, without my grandmother’s hovering over me to make sure I studied, I’d never have reached my academic potential and she also forced me to interact socially at a time when I was extremely shy and withdrawn. She was there for all my

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childhood illnesses, every school program, every single activity and event of my childhood - something you never forget. So, for all she did wrong, she did much more that was right and good. Yes, I was damaged by the verbal and psychological abuse, but I was also blessed by the love and attention. I stopped resenting her a long time ago and, eventually, was able to forgive my mother and move on past the resentment. I also had resentment toward my father for letting me down by cheating on my mother, until I realized I wasn’t married to my father; my mother was and she forgave him a long time ago, so who am I to not forgive him? He repented for his sin and suffered for it, as well. And despite having transgressed, he was a man of God and a leader of men. Many people measure success by how much wealth they accumulate, but that is not the truest measure of success, in my opinion. I think true success is measured by the amount of peace and joy in your life: the kind you find in God’s secret place. I had to give up my resentments to go there and I shed them all willingly. I wouldn’t have been able to dwell in God’s secret place had I allowed myself to get involved in fighting for a job that had me on the verge of physical collapse or allowed the rumors about me to sink in and change my view of myself as victorious in that situation and triumphant as I left a fulltime job with benefits for a part time one with none.

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To see yourself as a winner in such a situation takes real conviction and, if nothing else, I have deep conviction in the power of God. That’s why I sought out His secret place as my home. I had to seek His kingdom first, knowing that once I’d found it, all the other things I need and desire would come.

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Conclusion: There is Only One Secret and It’s No Secret!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.

The above scripture is part of my email signature. This was part of the scriptural text for a sermon my sister, D’Ebrar preached the one and only time I’ve heard her speak since she became a licensed minister, accepting a spiritual calling and following a family tradition. I was right in the middle of S.A.D. when I went to Columbus to get certified as a trainer in a staff training program. I arrived a day earlier than expected and was able to go to church with my sister and mother and hear my baby sister’s sermon. She reminded me that God is able to overcome any problem I may have and that 45

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His power and abundance exceeds anything I can ask him for or imagine receiving. I briefly went to His secret place while I listened to her sermon, but S.A.D. had a firm hold on me and I couldn’t stay. It took me another six weeks and the “prescription” God gave my friend, Lori, to get me back there. But I’ll never forget that in the midst of the satanic attack that is all disease, physical or mental, I found hope and could see a light at the end of the valley of the shadow of death I’d sunk unto during the winter months. People often reject the notion that diseases are demonic attacks because they view them as some kind of punishment or that they somehow bring these attacks on themselves. The human soul is the eternal target of demonic forces; you don’t have to do anything but be human to get attacked by these powers and principalities. How you respond to such attacks is what’s important. Some people kill their families and commit suicide. Others joyfully and cheerfully give away things they don’t need as they leave their foreclosed homes (remember God loves a cheerful giver!). My friend whose husband’s mistress flaunted their sin in her face chose to show the world Christ; someone else might have confronted this hateful woman and given her and the devil exactly what they wanted.

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We are not alone in our fight against evil. If we can get to God’s secret place, dwell there and then abide under His shadow, we cannot be attacked. It’s when we allow things like depression, as in the S.A.D. I get every winter, to take hold that we move away from God’s protection and down into the valley where we are open to attack. I have been dealing with the effects of S.A.D. for years, finally managing to not get the usual bout of bronchitis I got at the end of every winter. Now, my next task will not to succumb to any of the psychological effects of S.A.D. I believe if I continue to follow “the prescription” given to Lori to give to me, I’ll succeed. I’m rather looking forward to winter now because I’ll be dwelling in God’s secret place and will not be evicted by S.A.D. or anything else. Meanwhile, I’m there now, enjoying the peace and joy that only can be found in God’s secret place. I’ve also found something else here. There is “treasure” and “hidden wealth” in God’s secret place and God has promised to give it to me. Don’t you want to come here and get yours? (Isa 45:3 NASB) "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, And hidden wealth of secret places, In order that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

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