Part 3

“I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the Secret Place, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.”  Isaiah 45:3

I have always loved the Lord.  I do not remember a time in my life when I did not walk with Him.  I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church in a small town, and I was there every time the doors were open.  At the tender age of 8 years old, I made the public profession that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  I remember it like it was yesterday:  the feelings, the thoughts, the joy…although I was very young, I just knew. 

Approximately 18 years ago while sitting in Sunday School, I was asked what I wanted in my relationship with God, and without even thinking, I said, “To desire to desire Him.” 

On May 28, 2003 God spoke these words into my heart:  “I will teach you unspeakable things.”  He then sent me to Isaiah 45:3.  That was the very first time I had read about the Secret Place.  I asked a trusted friend and mentor, “What is the Secret Place, and how do I get there?”  She smiled at me and said, “You’ll know.”

As I said, I have always walked with the Lord, but that does not mean I was disciplined to study His Word on a regular basis, taking the time to meet with Him and fellowship with Him daily.  But, the desire to desire Him was increasing.  I had watched another friend for years as she loved rising early in the morning to journal and spend time with God.  I thought she was crazy!  We were young mothers and wives, and I could not find the energy to get up any earlier--- and I sure didn’t understand what it meant to journal!  But, the desire to desire Him was increasing.  It was shortly after God spoke to me in May, 2003, and the desire was becoming so strong, I asked God to awaken me early so that I could begin my day fellowshipping with Him.  He is very faithful, in whatever we ask of Him.  Not only did He wake me, but He awoke me with songs….
 “By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.”  Psalm 42:8   “…He will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17  And then, not only did He get me out of bed, He birthed in me the desire to begin to journal…”Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”  Psalm 102:18   My journals have become precious friends and a Balm of Gilead to my soul as I pour out my heart to Him and can go back to those journals for comfort and guidance.  I will confess that I do not journal every day, and I may even go weeks at a time without journaling, but I always come back to them. 

I can’t tell you exactly when I found and entered the Secret Place…..I just knew. 

Father, I pray that we all desire to desire You, and in desiring You, we will seek You in the Secret Place.  Wake us with Your singing, and give us Your Word every day for our nourishment.  Your Word says, “…what we will become has not yet been made known…” I John 3:2b   I pray to abandon myself daily to You and wait with breathless expectation.  Amen.