How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men! You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
Psalm 31: 19-20 (NASB)
Scripture: Psalm 91
The Bible tells us that God goes before us, never leaves us, and comes behind us. We know that He holds us in the palm of His hand. But what is this “… secret place of Your presence …” (Ps. 31: 20). This devotion will show how we are always in God’s presence.
Cliff Notes
- God goes before us, preparing the way.
- God fights for us and wins decisively.
- God has our back.
- God is going to hide us in a secret place.
- God gives us eternal life.
It is hard for some people to put their faith in a God they do not see. However, we can feel His presence. He is all around us and never leaves us.
There are verses in the Bible that tells us God has blazed a trail for us to follow. “The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes” (Deut. 1: 30 NIV). Let’s put this verse into context.
A Little Bit of Background
The Israelites had been wondering around in the wilderness for 40 years. They hadn’t trusted God to fight their battles. (Sound familiar?) Now they are back at the river, getting a second chance.
Remember, the 40 years hadn’t been a walk in the park. The people had made Moses so mad that he beat the rock (Num. 20: 11). (Again, sound familiar?)
All those but a handful of people who had been at the river the first time had died because of their unbelief. Moses was talking to the next generation.
Here, Moses was giving a history lesson. He was reminding the kids that are now adults that their parents didn’t put their trust in God.
The spies sent out the first time said that there were giants in the land. Probably not much had changed in 40 years. What the kids needed to do was believe God was with them.
No, they couldn’t see God. Doesn’t mean a thing. God was not only there, but He was also going before them — and us.
What Does This Mean?
Look at Isaiah 45: 2: “I myself will prepare your way, leveling mountains and hills. I will break down bronze gates and smash their iron bar” (GNT). Now, the high places were generally where the Canaanites worshiped their gods.
Think about that. God not only is going to be the advance party, but He is also going to be the bodyguard.
God will defeat those that would tempt His children to sin. That is how much our God loves us! He is there to protect us.
Did you see how God is going to defeat the enemy? He is going to level the mountains and hills. There will be no doubt who the victor will be. It won’t be a tie game or a photo finish. God will clearly be victorious.
We are also told that God never leaves us. “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut. 31: 8 ESV). Forsake means abandon. Abandon means desert or to stop looking after and supporting.
God isn’t going to leave us. God is always before us, with His arms outstretched, calling us into His embrace. He is going to make sure we have what we need — maybe not what we think we need or everything we want. But we will have everything we need.
But look at what else it says. It says God won’t fail us. We generally think of someone not being successful at something when they fail.
There is a secondary definition: God won’t neglect to do something. It won’t slip His mind to protect us today. He won’t decide that He is going to take a day off, that we are on our own.
God has promised to always, always, always care for us. Once we ask Him into our lives, it doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do. We are God’s, and nothing is going to change that. He will still be present, fighting our battles.
But that isn’t all. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God has our back? “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head” (Ps. 139: 5 NLT). “For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (Is 52: 12 ESV). We are surrounded. Wow!
But What of This Secret Place?
But Psalm 31: 20 talks about a secret place. Where is that?
God is our hiding place. “You are my hiding place! You protect me from trouble, and you put songs in my heart because you have saved me” (Ps. 32: 7 CEV).
Also, God will hide us. “In times of trouble he will shelter me; he will keep me safe in his Temple and make me secure on a high rock” (Ps. 27: 5 GNT).
Psalm 91 also talks about the secret place. Verse 1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps 91: 1 NKJV).
God also wants us to choose the hiding place. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6: 6 ESV).
How Do We Apply This?
How many times do I go running around like a chicken with my head cut off? (Enough to say I am having an Ichabod Chicken day!) How many times do things that have happened before come back to bite me?
How many times were things going to bite me, but God protected me? How many times did He hide me in His secret place so trouble couldn’t find me? How many times has He cleaned up my messes to work things out for His glory? Yes, folks, He uses the good, bad, and the ugly for His purposes.
God guarantees His presence to those who have given their lives to Him — now and forever. “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand” (Ps. 73:23 ESV). “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (Jn. 10:28 ESV).
We just have to hold onto the promise of God’s presence. We have to believe it, even when — especially when — that doesn’t seem to be happening.
We have to say, “Satan, quit trying to fill me with lies that God doesn’t love me and that He will leave me.” God does love us so He won’t leave us. It isn’t going to happen.
God loves us and will be present in our lives. He will guide us, love us, and protect us. He goes before us, with us, and after us. We can bank on that promise.
Loving Father. We are humbled that the Creator if the universe will come to us individually to call us to You. We were made to worship You. Unfortunately, man decided that we didn’t need You. Oh how wrong they were and are! We need Your guidance and protection, especially now. We need Your love. Fortunately, You see us as we were meant to be. Forgive us, Lord, when we get proud and believe we do not need You. Continue to love us back into Your will. Amen.
What do you think? Has there been a time when you have felt God went before you? How about a time when you saw God go behind you? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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