A Secret Place - Martin Wiles

As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Exodus 33:22 NLT

He was a master at making and discovering a secret place.

My maternal grandparents lived in an old farmhouse. My first cousin and his family lived a stone’s throw away. When I spent time visiting my cousin, we normally spent most of our time at our grandparents’ house. During one of my visits, he showed me his most recent discovery. Just above the small closet door in the kitchen was a hidden door.

What greeted us when we opened it was a spiral staircase. Naturally, we wanted to explore. Up we went into a dusty cavern. My hopes for discovering hidden treasure were dashed. Rolls and rolls of player-piano music was all we mined. No doubt once used on my grandmother’s old player piano that had been converted to a playable piano.

I wonder now what this secret room was used for: storage, a room for unruly children, an extra bedroom, or perhaps a secret place to hide runaway slaves. Although we didn’t know the purpose, we had uncovered yet another secret place.

Moses was sometimes overwhelmed by his God-given task of leading millions of people across a wilderness to the Promised Land. He wanted assurance of God’s guidance. On this occasion, he asked to see God’s presence as proof. God didn’t allow Moses to see his face, but he did place Moses in a secret place as he passed by: the cleft of a rock. 

Every believer needs their secret place. I have mine, and it’s not always the same place. It’s the place I go where God and I can be alone. A quiet place where I can hear God speak to me by his Spirit. A recliner in the early morning hours, a bench in a park, the bank of a pond, the top of a mountain peak, or a chair in the backyard.

The spot we choose isn’t as important as our frame of mind when we go there, along with our purpose for being there. Secret places are for seeking God’s face and his plan and for renewing our resolve to serve him and others faithfully. Secret places are essential for good spiritual health, so we should visit them often.  

Where is your secret place, and what makes it special?

Father, show me Your presence in a fresh way when I meet with You in our secret place. 

Tweetable: Where is your secret place? 

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God Moments - Martin Wiles

So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. Acts 8:27 NLT

“We invite you to sit down and play…”

I had visited quite a few hospitals that had pianos in a great room or in the lobby. But never had I seen one with a sign inviting people to sit and play.

My mom, wife, and I were visiting MUSC in Charleston, South Carolina, where my brother was undergoing surgery to repair a spinal injury from an old wreck. As the doctors worked on him, we ambled to the first floor to visit the cafeteria for breakfast. After we finished—and as we walked back to the elevator—I spotted the piano. Seeing the unusual sign, I read it to Mom.

Mom’s a sucker for a piano. She’s been playing since she was a small child. She dreamed of becoming a concert pianist—which she probably could have accomplished—but she married my dad and became a preacher’s wife instead. But she never lost her love for tickling the ivories—and showing off a little at the same time.

“Oh really,” she said when I read the sign to her. Then she mosied over in her slow manner and took a seat. Mom can play anything, and without music, but gospel music is her specialty. She’s played it all her life, beginning when she played church hymns for the little Methodist congregation where she grew up.

In our culture, I wondered what kind of crowd she’d draw by playing church hymns. And MUSC is like taking all the cars in Atlanta, Georgia, turning them into people, and compressing them into a small area. A lot of folks going in a lot of different directions, all in a hurry.

As Mom progressed from one song to another, a few people stopped to enjoy. One young man took a seat instead of standing. He listened intently as Mom played the old gospel favorites. When we finally pried Mom away from the piano so we could check on my brother, the young man thanked her, wiped the tears from his eyes, and walked away.

I must admit, I cringed when Mom sat to play. She has a way of embarrassing me and my brothers sometimes, but I guess she felt a prompting I hadn’t. Someone needed to hear what she played. I witnessed a God moment.

So did Philip. Philip enjoyed a great revival in Samaria when God called him to go to a desert road where he met a single man. He must have wondered why God would send him to one person when he could have kept preaching to hundreds. He soon found out. That one man accepted Christ and then returned to his country to tell others about God’s love.

Catching the God moments in our lives requires sensitivity to the working of God’s Spirit in our spirit. Doing so also entails asking God to send them. He wants to—and is perfectly capable of arranging them—but we must want them and ready ourselves for them. When we are in close connection with God, which comes from staying prayed up and Bible read up, we’ll see the opportunities God sends for us to bless others in His name.

Ask God to send you some God moments.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for the God moments You send our way. 

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What Fish Money Can Do - Martin Wiles

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20 NLT

She played, people clapped, and I told them that’s what fish money did.

Mom’s family attended a small United Methodist church on a country road. The lady who played the piano was older and beginning to miss a few notes. My grandmother wanted Mom to play, even though she was only in elementary school. But she didn’t know how she’d fund the lessons. My grandfather wasn’t about to shell out the money.

But my grandmother had a plan. She loved to fish and sold most of her catches to neighbors who were more than willing to buy them. She could use this money to pay for Mom’s piano lessons. And she did. However, her instructions to the piano teacher were clear: teach her hymns first—and then the other songs. She wanted Mom to play in church as soon as possible.

My grandmother’s plan worked. Mom took lessons, my grandmother paid for them with fish money, and Mom began playing in the Gerizim United Methodist Church when she was elementary age. Almost seventy years later, she’s still playing in church when she has the opportunity. She played for Dad at almost every church he pastored, and now, ironically, she plays for me in the church I pastor.

Fishing attracted Jesus too. The first disciples He called made a living at it. But He told them to leave their nets and their livelihood and follow Him. He would make them fishers of people. After several years of training—and His death—He would set them free to change the world.

God doesn’t require that we have much because He owns it all. My grandmother had very little—and I’m sure she never imagined Mom would use her talent as she had. Mom’s dream involved becoming a concert pianist, but God called her to use her talent in the small churches Dad pastored in South Carolina and Tennessee. The earthly pay stunk, but I imagine the heavenly reward will be worth it.

God is more than willing to send opportunities our way. All that He requires is that we ask for them. And to ask for the faith eyes to see them when He sends them. Busyness and misplaced priorities can blind us, but our willingness opens unimaginable doors.

Don’t underestimate what God can do with a small amount of resources—and your faith.

Tweetable: Are you giving God your little? 

Prayer: Father, show us what You can do in our lives when we trust You by faith. 

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Praise . . . Regardless - Martin Wiles

For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. Psalm 18:49 NLT

Her instructions to the piano instructor were clear: teach regular piano lessons for fifteen minutes and teach hymns for the remainder of the time.

Mom was a member of a small United Methodist Church nestled on a country road. The only person who could play the piano could really not play well at all. So my grandmother decided to do something about it. She took the money she made from selling fish she caught and paid for Mom to take piano lessons so she could play at church as soon as possible. Her plan worked, and at nine years of age Mom began playing the piano in church.

That was sixty-seven years ago, and Mom still plays. Yet things didn’t work out exactly the way she planned. She had dreams of becoming a concert pianist—and probably could have been. But Dad came along, stole her heart, and married her just before being shipped overseas by the Army.

Shortly after his enlistment was over, Dad accepted the call into full-time Christian ministry. And Mom? She became the pianist and/or music leader for every church he pastored until he retired. She never made the stage she hoped for, but she praised God with her hands and mouth for all of those years—and still does when she has the opportunity.

The psalmist King David did too. In his early years, he praised God with a harp. He even danced before the Lord on one occasion. He praised God often by writing psalms, as well with his mouth. God had delivered him from many enemies during his lifetime, and he didn’t mind letting others know about it.

The apostle Paul said he had learned to be content in all circumstances. Thus, he could praise God in all situations. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but one God wants us to master. We can praise God for salvation. He forgives all of our sins. We can praise Him for the hope of eternal life. There, all the things we don’t like here will be missing. We can praise Him for His promise to work all things together for our good. All things won’t be good, but He’ll sustain us and work them for our good.

The list of things to praise God for is endless. Pick a few each day, and praise Him . . . regardless.

Prayer: Father, we praise You for who You are and for who we can be through Christ. 

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