When the author of Psalm 91 invites us to take refuge in the shelter of the Most High, where does he have in mind? What actual place in the actual universe are we invited to?

The word for “shelter” in the opening verse (“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High”) can be translated as a “hidden place” or “secret place”—the very experience children are searching for when building forts: “This is my secret, special place.” A great deal has been written about the secret place of God by mystics through the ages, some of it exquisite and some of it so vague as to be unhelpful. If we are invited to take refuge in the secret place, it can’t be so mysterious as to be beyond finding.

What is the inmost place of God? What is the absolute center?

His heart. Just as your heart is the very center of your being, so our Father’s heart is the center of his.

As the twentieth-century mystic A. W. Tozer reminds us, “God is a Person, and in the deep of His mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires and suffers as any other person may.” (The Pursuit of God)

The secret place of God is his heart, and we are invited to take refuge there! What privilege, what intimacy, what joy!

Trailing clouds of glory you came from the heart of God, and you can return to his heart. This is the truest and greatest homecoming of all. The presence of God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—and the vast resources of his Kingdom are always nearby. But we do need to make conscious choices to take our refuge in God and his Kingdom. Otherwise we are taking refuge somewhere else.

Want More? Order your copy of Experience Jesus. Really. today

Sheltered in the Father's Heart