“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” —Psalm 91:1

“You can not draw closer to the shadow of God Almighty than when you are hugging the cross. The cross’s shadow is the saint’s home. The cross is the safest place on earth. It is the place where the most violent winds will whip your soul, but also where you will enjoy the greatest immunity from Satan’s devices. By embracing the cross, you are dying to every mechanism in your soul that Satan can use against you. 

“We must return to the cross intentionally and continually. We know that we are crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), but self has an uncanny way of crawling off the cross and asserting itself. The crucifixion of the self-life is not an achievement but a process: We die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31). 

“Many people see the cross as the place of pain and restriction, and that is true. But it is so much more! The cross is the place of absolute love. The cross is the Father saying to the world, ‘This is how much I love you!’ The cross is the Son saying to the Father, ‘This is how much I love You!’ And the cross is the bride saying to her Bridegroom, ‘This is how much I love You!’ 

“As you hang with Him here, even though your vision is clouded and you cannot see His face, yet if you listen you will hear His voice. With seven words He would guide you through this dark night of your soul…The highest intimacy is mixed with the deepest abandonment. You do not understand why the crucible seems interminable. 

“As you lay down your life, He takes the profound death that has worked itself in you and transforms it into resurrection life. You are joined to Christ in His death, His burial, and His resurrection! Unparalleled affection is reserved for those who share this cross with their Beloved. This is the secret place. Here exchanged are the fathomless passions of the Eternal God with His select partner. 

“This is extravagant love—no length spared, no part withheld—for the cross empowers total abandonment. Every ‘yes’ of this secret place fuels renewed exchange of exclusive devotion. Anything for love! Come aside to the desolate hill of crucifixion. Say ‘yes’ once more. Feel the cramping; sigh and groan. Join your suffering Savior. Drink of His cup, all of it. And discover the secret of everlasting love in the shadow of the Almighty.”—Bob Sorge

My Prayer

“I choose death Lord, that I may live. I cling to Your cross again, Lord. I know that that is the only place where Your death will frustrate the old-life in me and continue to birth Your new life in me through Your resurrection. I submit to the pains of dying so that I may enjoy the freedoms of living. May I die daily Lord. May I hug the cross with all the agonies that it brings, knowing that the cross is one step away from resurrection morning. I declare that the nature of the old-man will never continue to display its ugliness in my life. I refuse to pamper the flesh. I know that only through Your cross will my victory come. I am victorious in Christ and by the cross. I am victorious today and so long as I carry my cross daily, I will remain victorious. Every time my old-nature seeks to crawl back into its old-place, Oh Lord, let Your cross engineer a fresh process of dying in me. I choose death, Lord, that I may live. Continue to invite me into Your death that I may experience Your resurrection. In Jesus name. Amen.” 

The Challenge

Don’t fight the cross. Some things that cause pain in you may be God’s way of revealing the old life in you, that you may again take it to the cross to die. Embrace the cross.