Welcome to Abide in The Secret Place!!
Finding Rest in His Presence
How could a mountain-loving girl possibly begin her blog without a picture of the mountains? 😉
I captured this breathtaking view somewhere in Germany’s beautiful Black Forest, one of my favourite places in the whole wide world, where mountains and forests meet!
There is something about the beauty and majesty of the mountains that draws me into a place of stillness and wonder.
Whenever I look at this photograph, I am reminded of how I feel when I spend time in God’s presence: rested, refreshed, renewed, and strengthened for whatever the day may bring.
Just as I long to retreat into the quiet beauty of the mountains, I have learned how much my soul needs a quiet place with the Lord.
A place away from the noise and demands of everyday life. Away from the endless responsibilities, unfinished chores, competing priorities, and ever-growing to-do lists.
A place where I can set everything else aside, turn my attention towards Jesus, and simply be with Him.
This is the heart behind Abide in the Secret Place.
How This Journey Began
Looking back, I am amazed at how this journey has unfolded over the years.
It began in 2002, during my first corporate job, when I started sharing little devotionals and reflections from God’s Word with colleagues through email.
No one had asked me to do this, and I certainly had no plans to begin a ministry! I was actually rather reluctant at first. But I began sharing anyway.
To my surprise, people started responding. Some wanted to meet and pray together. Others invited me for coffee, and some beautiful friendships grew out of those early emails.
In the years that followed, particularly during my time in Oman, the Lord began deepening my own walk with Him in ways I had not anticipated.
Through the encouragement of a women’s ministry leader, I learned to approach my quiet time differently: to slow down, linger in Scripture, prayerfully reflect on what I was reading, and write down what the Holy Spirit was teaching me through God’s Word.
She encouraged me to share these reflections and opened opportunities for me to do so.
Over time, I found myself sharing in small groups, women’s ministry gatherings, and larger settings. I also continued sending written reflections to friends and acquaintances.
What began as simple workplace emails gradually grew into something more.
And in 2014, Abide in the Secret Place was born!
Sadly, I lost those first years of blog posts when I accidentally deleted them while trying to manage the website. I had been writing directly in WordPress and had no backups. Years of reflections disappeared in an instant.
It was heartbreaking.
But although those written words were lost, the lessons the Lord had taught me through His Word remained.
In 2020, I began blogging again.
And here we are, more than two decades after those first emails!
I never imagined where those simple beginnings would lead. I am deeply grateful for the friendships formed, the opportunities to share God’s Word, and the people who have walked alongside me over the years.
Through it all, one desire has remained close to my heart: to encourage others to seek the Lord for themselves and discover the extraordinary joy of knowing Jesus personally.
An Invitation to Know Him More Deeply
This blog is an extension of my own journey of learning to abide in Christ.
Over the years, as I have spent time with the Lord through His Word and prayer, I have discovered treasures in Scripture that have challenged my thinking, corrected my ways, strengthened my faith, and drawn me into a deeper relationship with Him.
And it gives me immense joy to share some of these reflections with you!
My deepest desire is to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to develop a hunger for God’s Word and a longing to spend time in His presence.
Not merely knowing about Jesus.
Not simply being busy for Him.
But learning to know Him, love Him, obey Him, and abide in Him.
Jesus tells us:
“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:14 (NIV)
What a beautiful promise!
There is a depth of joy, peace, wisdom, and satisfaction to be found in Christ that nothing in this world can offer.
And the wonderful thing is that He invites us to come to Him.
Anchored in His Word
Ever since I began learning to intentionally set aside time to seek the Lord through Scripture and prayer, I have experienced a joy that continues to sustain me through the changing seasons of life.
That doesn’t mean life has been without its storms.
Far from it!
There have been seasons of uncertainty, disappointment, waiting, and struggles that have tested my faith and exposed areas of my heart that still needed His transforming work.
But through the many ebbs and flows of life, I have learned to cast my anchor deep into God’s Word.
His Word has become my place of refuge, my source of strength, and the foundation upon which I seek to build my life.
And the more I spend time with Him, the more I realise how much there is yet to discover of His character, His ways, and His heart.
One of the things that continually amazes me is how the Holy Spirit can illuminate even the simplest passages of Scripture, bringing understanding that touches the deepest places of our hearts.
How often do we complicate things by relying primarily on our own understanding, when God has given us the extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us into truth!
The Holy Spirit continues to instruct, correct, refine, and shape me through His Word.
I am still learning, still growing, and still discovering how much I need Him.
And I pray that this will remain a lifelong journey.
My Prayer for You
As you read the reflections shared here, my prayer is that they will do more than encourage you for a moment.
I pray that they will awaken in you a deeper hunger for Jesus.
That you will be drawn to open your Bible for yourself, spend unhurried time in His presence, and invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word and work in your heart.
That you will allow Him to instruct you, correct you, refine you, and gradually transform you into the likeness of Christ.
That your relationship with Jesus will become increasingly personal, intimate, and deeply rooted in truth.
And that, whatever season of life you find yourself in, you will learn to draw your strength, wisdom, peace, and joy from Him.
Not because your circumstances are always easy, but because you are learning to abide in the One who remains faithful through them all.
My prayer is also that we might become a little community of believers from around the world, encouraging one another in our walk with Jesus.
We may come from different countries, backgrounds, and seasons of life, but we share the extraordinary privilege of knowing and following the same Lord.
I would love to hear what He has been teaching you through His Word. Perhaps something you share in the comments beneath a reflection might be just what another believer needs to hear.
May we learn from and encourage one another, always pointing each other back to Jesus.
One Last Thing, From My Heart
There is something I want to be very clear about.
These reflections are not intended to replace your own time in God’s Word.
Quite the opposite!
If anything I write causes you to close this blog, open your Bible, and spend time seeking the Lord for yourself, I would consider that a wonderful outcome.
I do not want you to depend on my reflections when you have the extraordinary privilege of drawing near to God yourself.
I want these writings to stir within you the longing expressed so beautifully by the psalmist:
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”
Psalm 42:1 (NIV)
May that become the cry of our hearts.
May we never be satisfied with merely reading about Him when He invites us to know Him personally.
May His Word become our delight, His presence our place of refuge, and obedience to Him the natural response of hearts that have learned to love Him.
And may we learn, day by day, to find our deepest rest, greatest joy, and truest fulfilment in Christ alone.
Thank you for being here. I am grateful for the privilege of sharing this journey with you.
Be encouraged, and be blessed!
Much love in Jesus,
Helga
Abide in the Secret Place