The Secret Place

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1 Corinthians 7:30 says, “and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be free of concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.”

May first few weeks of medical school, I have spent a good majority complaining. I didn’t want to leave Knoxville, my family, my friends. I wasn’t ready to start working hard again, and I definitely didn’t want to work as hard as I had to. I still wanted to sleep in and have fun, but I couldn’t. I was miserable. Don’t get me wrong I was and am still so happy to be here, but it is NOT fun!

My quiet times were suffering, and I had very little joy. I knew I was only here because God really wanted me here, but I couldn’t understand why I was so miserable! He was my ONLY motivation for getting out of bed every day and going to class for 5, 6 or 8 hours and then coming home to study until I went to sleep. It has gotten better, but still I could focus on Him for the storms I saw around me. As I tried hard to focus on Him, I came to this verse this morning after I made myself get up an hour early to make sure I had time to seek His face. He reminded me that it doesn’t matter what my emotions are. Emotions change with the wind. I need to ‘shed’ all my emotions, good and bad, so I can come to Him alone and let Him fill me to over-flowing with His joy and peace and strength that don’t run dry!

I also read in “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers today that “Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. . . when we truly live in the 'secret place' it becomes impossible for us to doubt God.”

As Peter kept His eyes on Christ alone when he walked with Him on the water, I too need to keep my focus, my efforts on Him no matter what the waves are doing around me! When I focus solely on Christ, I can only focus on His truth. His is worth it! He is enough!

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