The Nook of Knowing Him

To know Him and know Him more. Is there anything sweeter or better?

There is a safety with God that is found nowhere else. I heard a man of God give it this name, he referred to it as a nook. His choice of words interested me and really spoke to me. There’s a song I used to listen to called ‘Sheltered in the arms of God’. And as he referred to the secret place as the ‘nook’ I was reminded of that sweet spot with the Lord.

Psalms 91:1 in the NKJV reads:

He who dwells in the secret place shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

What a beautiful description, what an amazing privilege and covering to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

And, what does a shadow do? It protects, it covers, it shields. That’s who our God is. The One who covers us, the One who shields us from all harm. Later on in the chapter Psalms 91:4 it says:

He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

The word nook speaks to a place of intimacy like no other to me. Thinking of it as a small crawl space, away from everyone and everywhere else. A place cut off to most people. An alcove, an enclosed space made for no more than two. A place made for you and the One who made you. The One who knew you before the foundations of the world was made. The One who chose you to be His before you were in your mother’s womb. The One who formed you in utter seclusion in the womb. The One who is intimately involved in your everyday life. The one who breathes His breath of life in your lungs daily. The One who is madly in love with you. The One who fully accepts you. The One who will never leave you nor forsake you.

Just speaking about this makes me want to run back to that place with Him now!

He is so beautiful and loves so wonderfully. When I look at the cross and what was done, I’m grateful of course for salvation (thank You Jesus for making a way for me in glory, that one day I will stand before You face to face beholding Your beauty). But, so much was done through the cross. Salvation was purchased yes, but right standing, peace, friendship with God was all given to us. 

The book of Romans is a book that changed my life eternally. And I advise that if you’re looking to know God more, to grow in understanding of Him and how much He loves you, this it’s a great place to start. 

What a beautiful reality we are living. Redeemed, justified, reconciled to God. Not because of what we’ve done, but because of what He did. Romans 5:6-7 in the NLT says:

‘When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.’

What good news! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He paid the ultimate price for us and now we are heirs of the promise that God made to Abraham, and with sonship He has restored to us friendship with Himself (Romans 5:11).

When I look at the beginning of time, when God created Adam, I like to imagine watching as a fly on the wall. Seeing how simple life was for him, the first man walking on Earth. How God was so intimately involved in his everyday, how God was with Him, how God was watching his every move, supplying all of his needs. When Adam and Eve fell, they ran because they heard God walking in the garden (Genesis 3:8) and I like to imagine that before they fell God would come and walk alongside them. Imagine that? God coming and walking alongside you physically?

And I want to encourage you now that He does exactly that! Jesus didn’t leave us alone. In fact, like He said Himself, it’s good that He went back to be with the Father so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit is the One who sticks closer than a brother, the One who has made His home within you, He is closer than the very air you breathe. We do not walk alone, He is always with us. What an amazing reality we have? No matter what you face, where you go, He is always with you (Psalm 23:4).

So, back to that nook. To that place of intimacy. It’s where you are protected, it’s where you are covered. It’s where we are supposed to live from. You weren’t built to weather the storms of life alone. In fact, you weren’t made to weather them at all. Jesus took it all on the cross for us. He paid the ultimate price, overcoming the world and everything in it on our behalf! (John 16:33). 

One of the first scriptures that really spoke to me when I got saved was Matthew 11:28-30 NLT:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."

Can you see that you’re not meant to strive? You’re not meant to be overwhelmed by life and all its problems but, you are supposed to live from a place of rest. Just like Jesus did. He was never stressed, worried or panicked. He lived from a place of rest because He knew that the Father had it all under control, and we are to know the same and to live the same. 

And I want to leave you with this, you ARE qualified to enter that nook. Don’t hide from Him. In fact He invites you there with Him, He loves you and spending time with you like a Father with a child, because you are His child, and He is your father. Stay in that place, rest in that place, make your home in that place. You were never built to weather the storm alone.

The Lord gave me a picture a couple of years ago of my vehicle versus His all terrain vehicle. I realised then, that I cannot and should not be fighting things alone. I was driving along, in the driver’s seat of a small car, which couldn’t handle steep inclines or surfaces with low traction. My car was slipping and sliding all over the place, I even lost a tyre along the way lol. And then came Jesus, when I was in His car, with Him in the driver's seat, it was meandering through all the roads I was struggling to navigate effortlessly. It was such a smooth journey. You couldn’t even tell we were driving over boulders, gravel etc. and in that moment I realised the power and beauty of rest. Resting in Him and His finished work (Hebrews 11:4).

Sit back and relax, as children of God we are so blessed. The battle has been won. 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank You. Thank You for Your great love for me. Thank You Lord for Your peace, Your rest, the victory that You won for me.

I lay down my anxieties and cares down at Your feet and I choose to take up Your yoke and light burden. I thank You that You care for me (1 Peter 5:7). That every need I have, You will supply (Philippians 4:19). That no matter what I face, nothing will separate me from Your great love for me (Romans 8:39).

Thank You that Your plans for me are all good (Jeremiah 29:11) and that every thought You think towards me is of good and not evil (Psalm 139:17).

Thank You for this place of intimacy and I pray that as I lay my burdens down at Your feet, seeking Your face and Your kingdom first. That You are working on my behalf, making ways for me where there seems to be no way.

In Your precious name I pray, amen.