There is such a depth of obscurity in it, such a bizarre way of being. Too much. Too much strange. Too much obscurity. Just too much.
And this obscurity You call me to - I doth much resist.
And then there came this teaching that Jesus was explaining to me -
. . . when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father Who is in the secret place . . .
Secret place. Behind shut doors. If it was not Jesus teaching, this mother of 9 teenagers would have been entirely irate! But, it was Jesus and He did speak of His Father in these secret places, in some sort of sacred spaces. Surely sounds a bit of obscurity to me.
The obscure and bizarre He beckons me to does not seem quite so unappealing now in light of Jesus' Words. This 'secret place,' this is where His Father is, behind a closed door, shut away from all the common ways of man. That is where my Father is.
And of course, now I see it must be a 'secret place,' an unknown space to house the Creator of the universe. Could He possibly be contained in that which we know? In which we can comprehend? In all that we find comfortable, natural is not to be that which could hold His majesty. It is entirely impossible and we should dare not even think that He could be anywhere but in the entirely UNCOMMON.
He is to be found in the 'secret place' with door shut soundly secure.
And in the 'secret place' God of universe majestic is God to just me - little old, common place me.
And if you will securely shut door to all that is common and all that is natural He will become God to just you - little old, common place you.
That is one of the great secrets of that 'secret place' - when you or I willingly walk into obscurity He becomes my God, just my God. And yet, across this common place town and over all its common place ways, lays another shut door and in that 'secret place' He is God to just them - just little old, common place them.
It is a marvel of His majesty that He can be entirely everything to me and still be able to meet your timely need.
And what had felt too bizarrely strange (even for me), now in light of Jesus' teaching to me, now feels entirely exciting and overwhelmingly fulfilling.
Obscurity sounds terribly splendid now. Doesn't it?
But, the world that we live in knows nothing of sacred spaces, it holds no honor for the soul who silently waits in His 'secret place.' Our society sells its very soul for one moment of notice, one fleeting second in the sun. Society tells us to bare all and in a perpetual raucous riot screams its soul's secrets to the highest bidder (aka - social media). This is common, far too common.
But, the Word taught of another way - a soul silently waiting beyond the shut door to be sealed into His 'secret place.' For Father God will not be found in any of our common spaces or natural ways.
And truth be told, it is not just our common way of thinking that insolently dares to imagine that God could be contained by our common ways, but it is a deeply rooted pride in self, pride in man. We dare to say that our prescribed methodologies, our perfectly timed services, or our selfishly ambitious prayers could house God Almighty?! Forgive us Jesus, wash us clean Heavenly Father of our arrogance that names you as common and attempts to house you in the natural ways of our thinking and the fleshy ways of our doing.
Of course You can not be found in our arrogance but You do patiently and loving wait in Your 'secret place' and You deeply desire for Your people to securely shut the door to our own ways and our own thinking and enter into Your 'secret place.'
If I choose, if you choose then shut doors shows the entry into sacred space.
And what had felt too obscure, I know see as actually too sacred. And yet, You offer it anyways - to little old, common place me.
And little old, common place you.
(Matthew 6:6)
And this obscurity You call me to - I doth much resist.
And then there came this teaching that Jesus was explaining to me -
. . . when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father Who is in the secret place . . .
Secret place. Behind shut doors. If it was not Jesus teaching, this mother of 9 teenagers would have been entirely irate! But, it was Jesus and He did speak of His Father in these secret places, in some sort of sacred spaces. Surely sounds a bit of obscurity to me.
The obscure and bizarre He beckons me to does not seem quite so unappealing now in light of Jesus' Words. This 'secret place,' this is where His Father is, behind a closed door, shut away from all the common ways of man. That is where my Father is.
And of course, now I see it must be a 'secret place,' an unknown space to house the Creator of the universe. Could He possibly be contained in that which we know? In which we can comprehend? In all that we find comfortable, natural is not to be that which could hold His majesty. It is entirely impossible and we should dare not even think that He could be anywhere but in the entirely UNCOMMON.
He is to be found in the 'secret place' with door shut soundly secure.
And in the 'secret place' God of universe majestic is God to just me - little old, common place me.
And if you will securely shut door to all that is common and all that is natural He will become God to just you - little old, common place you.
That is one of the great secrets of that 'secret place' - when you or I willingly walk into obscurity He becomes my God, just my God. And yet, across this common place town and over all its common place ways, lays another shut door and in that 'secret place' He is God to just them - just little old, common place them.
It is a marvel of His majesty that He can be entirely everything to me and still be able to meet your timely need.
And what had felt too bizarrely strange (even for me), now in light of Jesus' teaching to me, now feels entirely exciting and overwhelmingly fulfilling.
Obscurity sounds terribly splendid now. Doesn't it?
But, the world that we live in knows nothing of sacred spaces, it holds no honor for the soul who silently waits in His 'secret place.' Our society sells its very soul for one moment of notice, one fleeting second in the sun. Society tells us to bare all and in a perpetual raucous riot screams its soul's secrets to the highest bidder (aka - social media). This is common, far too common.
But, the Word taught of another way - a soul silently waiting beyond the shut door to be sealed into His 'secret place.' For Father God will not be found in any of our common spaces or natural ways.
And truth be told, it is not just our common way of thinking that insolently dares to imagine that God could be contained by our common ways, but it is a deeply rooted pride in self, pride in man. We dare to say that our prescribed methodologies, our perfectly timed services, or our selfishly ambitious prayers could house God Almighty?! Forgive us Jesus, wash us clean Heavenly Father of our arrogance that names you as common and attempts to house you in the natural ways of our thinking and the fleshy ways of our doing.
Of course You can not be found in our arrogance but You do patiently and loving wait in Your 'secret place' and You deeply desire for Your people to securely shut the door to our own ways and our own thinking and enter into Your 'secret place.'
If I choose, if you choose then shut doors shows the entry into sacred space.
And what had felt too obscure, I know see as actually too sacred. And yet, You offer it anyways - to little old, common place me.
And little old, common place you.
(Matthew 6:6)
