A window size affects the amount of light in a room. The closer you are to a window the brighter the prospect of seeing more of the outdoors. On the other hand the closer to the window you are the more visible you are to those on the outside. Although we need to be open about our faith, there is an intimacy that is not to be paraded before men. Psalm 18:11 -" He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him were dark-waters and thick clouds of the skies."
What do you want seen by your brothers and sisters in your times of Fellowship? What do you want seen by others in your daily walk? What do you want discovered by all, and possibly your enemies, if the window was opened to your secret place? What importance do you place on the unseen intimacy that you have with your God? Do we know that the real power and effectiveness of our lives in Christ does not come from our public displays to prove our connection with God?
Psalm 81:7 - Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah, Selah." So many of us equate piety with our ability to carry the remnants of our suffering in a daily sorrow filled proclamation of our troubles. "Pity me, I am suffering because of the cause of Christ." WOW! What a travesty ... this "Pity Man" has no King to help him? Why would I want to trust this man's King?
Psalm 91:1 - "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Real "Abiding" Life is found in the Secret Place of the Most High. If our troubles are placed under His Shadow, they will not be seen the same way by others. What is placed under the shadow is to be trusted to be taken care of there. Stay there in secret until you know He is God over your troubles, then bring His marvelous deliverance to light. Luke 11:33 - "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."
I followed Jesus down the truth pathways of the four Gospels in search of real life. It was almast like a train ride or a trailer to a bizarre movie. I passed by a crowd who were jumping and praising while still carrying their crutches. I passed by a dimly lit crowd with their lips and fingers full of shushing. I passed by an assembly whose hearts were heavy with sorrow and whose eyes were heavy with sleep. I raced by those who were proclaiming "the Good Life" formulas and "magical outlines" for success.
With tears in my eyes these sights made me feel so alienated from the love connection with my God. To fit in with any of these groups might find me "amidst a doing in His Name" that may very well be foreign and disconnected from the Jesus Story. So immediately I retreated to my Secret Place and found Him waiting. But he pointed to the windows in passing:
Still on the train ... I looked, and beheld, as the media of the day continued to rape innocency by exposing intimacy, all in the name of transparency. I found that this expose' could capture and enslave the heart of the most noble believer. This "frankness with the secret" was causing many of His more fragile Kids to fall by the wayside by the same error... in the name of "honesty"? Honesty and transparency are purposeful in shedding light on darkness, but are extremely destructive when they are a smokescreen for unbridled lust. Real liberty in the Spirit does not excite nor entice the lust of the flesh. Ezekiel 7:22 - "My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it and defile it." (Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little eyes what you see, for your Father up above is looking down with love, oh.. be careful little eyes what you see.) You can count on the onslaught ...undergird and strenthen your resolve and strongest desires for His Secret Place with you.
Windows are awesome ... but potentially the only windows needed in our "secret place" is a Skylight to the Father and a Oneway looking out to the broken.
HLFA,
Jeff