The Secret Place of the Most High

As the dawn bursts with its myriad of glorious colors, liquid gold spreads like frosting over the earth. Beauty, which only moments before, had been obscured by the darkness, is now visible in the morning light. Dewdrops glisten on the primrose climbing along the rustic split-rail fence. A bluebird swoops to the resting place of a limb on the grand old oak. She ushers in the morning with a sweet song - perhaps a morning prayer of thanks to her Creator. Clouds on the horizon speak of coming rain, their precious cargo of raindrops rides along the heavens waiting for the warmth of day. Beneath a fallen log, a cricket peers out and greets the new dawn with a jazzy little tune of happiness.

This beauty was here all along.

But...the darkness of night obscured these objects of heaven's delight.

Thankfully, the brilliant light of dawn revealed the beauty. This hidden beauty declared the faithfulness of God.

And so it is with us.

The darkness - the struggles, despair, depression - can obscure the hidden treasures of Christ within us. The treasures are there, but we cannot see them because the shroud of darkness seeks to dim the Light - it seeks to stifle our declaration of God's faithfulness.

Have you ever thought that perhaps our darkest moments hide the secret places of God? It is easy to understand the truths revealed in the Light: "I believe in the One true God, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His Son, who died on the cruel cross for the Redemption of mankind - for the restoration of my broken soul." These we readily accept and understand.

But darkness holds truths as well.

Only those who experience the darkness face-to-face, anticipating the coming Dawn, gain the knowledge of the hidden treasures of our faith.

In the darkness, we experience the secrets of God.

In the darkness, we experience the loving comfort of our Lord.

In the darkness we reach for the hand of our Heavenly Father and can trace the imprint of our name He has engraved there. (Isaiah 49:16)


Exquisite beauty can be found in the darkness when we allow the Light of Christ to burst through with its myriad of glorious colors. It is then that we find the essence of Who God is. Without the darkness, we are tempted to accept God at face value - in the Light there is no need to reach for the comfort of His hand. "He who dwells in the Secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1) Could it be that the darkest moments in our life are but the shadow of the Almighty? Do we walk so close to our God that we dwell in the secret place, among the hidden treasures of His shadow? Rather than resenting the darkness, maybe we should embrace it, knowing that the dawn with its glorious Light will reveal exquisite beauty in our souls.

Father, let your Dawn burst forth with a myriad of glorious colors and reveal to me the hidden treasures of my darkest night. Help me reach up and take Your mighty hand. Thank you for letting me find my name engraved there. O, what a comforting thought!