Many people are thinking about the tragedy of “9/11” on this day, and I remember and mourn those who were lost in that horrific attack on our nation.

But on this day, “9/11″… I find myself thinking more about, another “91:1″…

And that’s Psalm 91:1 –a verse from a passage that has so captivated and changed my life.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…”

Over the last year or so, the Lord has been teaching me about this “secret place” and what it means to “dwell” in this place where I dwell with Him and He dwells with me.

It’s the place of His presence. It’s a place that He grows things out of…

It’s a place where there is love and no fear, it’s a place from which I abide under the shadow of the Almighty — and not only just at certain times– when I learn to dwell in the presence of Almighty God, it is written that I will “abide” under His protective, transformative, glorious shadow.

The word “abide” means, “to bear patiently”, “to endure without yielding”, “to wait for”, “to accept without objection”, “to remain stable or fixed in a state”, “to continue in a place“…

It means that in this “secret place” of dwelling in a closeness with the Father, in meeting Him in this place each day, and from that place, learning to follow Jesus throughout my whole day… I will call upon Him, I will seek Him and I will find Him, He will answer me and He will show and reveal to me great and mighty things– things I do not know.

In this “secret place” where I dwell with Him, where I seek Him wholeheartedly, I will find Him. He will be there, because He is here.

From this “secret place” He brings “life” to my life –wholeness and healing. He brings to my life, transformation, abundance of peace, and understanding of truth.

In this “secret place” where I learn to dwell with Him, He cleanses me from all my iniquity, and He shows me the way in which I should go.

It is here in this “secret place” that He does a work in my heart, it’s the place where He strengthens me, refills me, and teaches me.

It is here in this “secret place” where it feels like there is no time…

It’s the place where He refills me and makes me “able” to walk through my day.

From this place, I learn that I can call to Him in any moment of the day and trust that He hears me, that He’s aware, and that He’s already moving in that situation.

It’s the place where I learn and gain understanding that He is for me, and not against me.

It’s the place where He reassures me with His Word, where He teaches me about who I am, who He has created me to be.

This “secret place” is where I soak in His Word, and soak the Word in, it’s where I gain understanding, where I gain and grow in all that I need to be able to walk through the day, and through my whole life.

It’s the place where I am reminded of the things He knows I need to be reminded of.

You know, I used to be terrified of this place, this “secret place” because of how afraid I was of God.

Because of how I thought God saw me, I thought I couldn’t bare to be close with Him, to have my heart examined by Him…because I was afraid of Him, and it was because I didn’t really know Him….

But it’s in this “secret place” that I learn to know Him.

It’s in this place that He lets Himself be known to me in such a personal way. He allows me to gain understanding of His personality and His ways. From this place, I learn that He is a good God who loves me beyond what I can understand, far beyond what I think I could ever deserve. He just does.

It all comes from this “secret place” that He has made available to us, a place for me to dwell with Him.

He is drawing us to this place. He is inviting us all to this place. He is reminding us to come to this place where we get to dwell with Him.

A thing I have learned over this last year is this…

So much more is happening, so much is “growing” in this “secret place” and from this “secret place” than we realize…

Thank You, Father, for drawing me to Your heart, for teaching me about who You really are, and bringing me to the place where I can truly learn to cherish You. Thank You for drawing me to the secret place with You, that I may learn to know You and that I get to see Your goodness and Your lovingkindness, Your grace and mercy, Your power, and Your salvation in my life. ?

-Heather ?