Difficulties of the Secret Place

Emotions got the best of me, yet again.
Thoughts that I do not want echo in my mind repeatedly.
Rumination has reared its ugly head.
Annoyed eyes.
Loose words spilling out.
Jealousy.
Comparing.
Lost temper with hubby.
Angry with self. 

These are just a few ways I am messy. The greatest thing for me to do in the midst of these “messes” is to go to the Secret Place, but at times that is easier said than done.

The best things for us can sometimes be the hardest things to do. The last couple months (on and off) I have discussed the topic of the Secret Place and the Benefits of the Secret Place. If you missed those articles and want a quick review, here you go:

The Secret Place is partially your one-on-one time with Jesus, with your Bible and perhaps journal out, and at a much deeper level, it is a life that remains in the hiddenness of the Lord. It means you dwell, abide, and stay in all of Jesus’s promises, truths, direction, and love for you—no matter what. You talk to Him at your inner core, and you do not stop.

The benefits of the Secret Place are limitless! A few of them include working through conflict, overcoming fear, healing from trauma, and learning the Father’s love. Last month we discussed how the Lord can guide, speak to, and protect us in the Secret Place as well.

Even though the Secret Place is the best thing for us, guess what? It can be one of the hardest things to actually enter into and stay in. There are numerous reasons why the Secret Place can be difficult, such as distractions, emotional or physical pain, lack of motivation, not feeling the Lord, not knowing what to say or do with Jesus, not being sure how to read the Bible, depression, or as alluded to earlier, feeling too messy to enter into the presence of the Lord.

In this article and the articles to come, I am going to address various difficulties of the Secret Place and some solutions around them. Go grab a cup of joe or some tea, and if you feel a little too messy for Jesus, by the time you are done with this article, you will have realized you are not, and I bet you will even be motivated to go talk to the big guy upstairs!

Some may feel that they have messed up so badly they cannot enter into conversation with Jesus. Oh, my friend, if you believe this, you are mistaken. The Lord will take you in no matter what you have done. Did you know that the majority of the Bible is written about and even by people that messed up? That is right, A LOT of the people in the Bible screwed up—and screwed up bad!

I will give you one scenario of a man named David. David made an “oopsies” by committing adultery. Then he had the husband of the woman he committed adultery with killed. Yep. You can read the full story in 2 Samuel 11–12. What is amazing, though, is that he repented (see Psalm 51) and was known as a man after God’s heart (see Acts 13:22). He was a man after God’s heart not based on performance (things he did or did not do) but because of his personal relationship and adoration with God. Another person in the Bible that made some pretty big errors was Paul. Prior to Paul becoming a follower of Jesus, he even persecuted Christians!

Studying about these men’s lives could be a good thing to do in the Secret Place and will probably make you not feel so bad about the things you have done wrong. Neither of these men let their identity fall under their “mess-ups,” but they knew they were sons of God and were loved by Him; therefore, they talked to the Lord and kept talking to Him. They remained in the Secret Place.

If you believe that you are too messed-up to spend time in the presence of the Lord, that is one FAT LIE from the enemy. I think this verse might help you out a little too. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

As you read 1 John 1:9 above, do you see the word all? That means no matter what you have done or said, if you repent, you are forgiven! Don’t let shame keep you away. Come out from the bushes as Adam and Eve did, and let Father God clothe you with love and compassion. Understand your identity in Him and remain hidden in those truths.

Perhaps you are asking yourself, “But what if I am in the midst of making mistakes, sinning, and messing up?” The same principle holds true: go running to the Lord in the midst of the screwups. Any good parent would want their child to go to them when they are struggling, right?! What makes our heavenly Father any different? Again, do not let shame keep you away. Go talk to Jesus about whatever it is you’re struggling with. Ask Him the roots to why you are doing what you are doing, strategy to overcome it, and strength in the midst of it. Another comforting verse to help you not feel so alone is “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Romans 7:15).

Solution:

1. If you have repented for your sins, know YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

2. If you have sinned and not yet repented, then I would suggest you do. Repenting is telling the Lord you are sorry, and turning away from whatever it is you did.

3. If you feel shame or guilt, I would recommend looking up various verses on forgiveness. Read them over and over. Renew your mind to the fact that you are clean. Yes, YOU ARE CLEAN. What a beautiful gift! You can look up verses by doing a simple internet search or even looking in the back of your Bible at the concordance (most Bibles have this). I’ll get the ball rolling by giving you a few Scriptures on forgiveness right now that you can go look up: Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 86:5, and Colossians 1:13–14. Understand that condemnation is not of God either. Here are a couple verses around this topic as well: Romans 8:1 and 1 John 3:20.

4. If you are still feeling stuck in shame or guilt, I would also encourage you to talk with the Lord about these feelings. Sit down, go for a walk or a drive, do art, or whatever it is, and pour out your heart to Him. After you share your feelings, ask the Lord, “What do you say?” However the Lord responds will be backed up with the Bible and carry the tone of the Fruit of the Spirit.

The other day I messed up bad. Like if it was a test, I would have gotten an F minus. I would have been so embarrassed if anyone heard how I spoke to and treated my husband. Geez! I was completely in the wrong. I felt so ashamed and was starting to spiral down into that dark pit of self-anger and even depression. Therefore, I went to the Lord and we talked about it. All of my anger “toward my husband” was not even about him. It was rooted in trauma from my past, not feeling physically good, my cup being drained, and what I believe to have been some spiritual warfare too. Talking with the Lord is so good. There is a reason why I did what I did. There is a reason why you did what you did or are doing what you are doing; the Lord will show it to you. He will do this with kindness and love; you need to just give Him a chance.

5. Understand your identity in Christ. You are NOT YOUR MISTAKES. You are a child of God, redeemed, strong, and a conqueror! You can look up verses on identity in Christ by doing a simple internet search as well. The first part of the book of Ephesians is loaded with them.

You are NOT too messy for Jesus. I promise. You are loved.

For the remainder of the summer, at the closure of every month, I will have an article around the difficulties of the Secret Place with solutions. In July I will discuss the topic of Depression and in August the subject matter of, Not Feeling the Lord. Blessings beautiful ones. He loves you, He really, really does. -Ashley

Picture Recognition: First photo (girl) is by Volkan Olmez on Unsplash. The second photo (pathway) is by Daniel Mainye on Unsplash. The third picture (coffee) is by VAYE DRIS on Unsplash. The final photo (three men) is by Jana Shnipelson on Unsplash. Thank You!