The secret place

The gospel of Matthew is a collection of the oral traditions of the apostles.

It begins with the beautiful account of Jesus’s birth, details of his eventful first few years on earth, and his journey as He walks into His calling from His Father, God.

Reading Chapter 6 of this book, 3 verses stood out to me, not just because
they are profound, but due to the fact that they are repeated three times. Not just a passing thought or encouragement, but a repeated phrase – one to take note of, to understand, to apply.

In Verses 1 -4, its talking about giving to the needy and that when we do so, our right hand should not know what the left is doing, and verse 4 reads, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Verses 5- 14 record Jesus teaching on prayer, and the well-known, beautiful Lord’s prayer. It exhorts us to quiet ourselves before the Lord and to go into the secret place when we pray and Verse 6 says, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Verses 16-18 teach us about fasting and encourage us to not look gloomy when we engage in this spiritual habit, but rather to be in top form physically! In verse 18 we read, yes you can guess, “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

SO what is it all this secret stuff that we are being encouraged to do for a reward?

I don’t know about you, but the season of lockdown 2 years ago, gave me the opportunity to examine my motives for things. Why had I done that? For what reason did I do this? Why would I go there?

It also gave me the quiet moments to lay my heart before the Lord and allow Him to search and know my thoughts. (Psalm 139:23)

It provided the space to let go of striving and trying to make it look good,
cos the only people who saw me or the fruit of my labour were my husband and daughter who have seen it all anyway.

It opened up a new normal, to release the pressure of performance and to embrace the rhythm of reality.

It encouraged me to seek the Lord, to find Him, and to know what He says of me. And I am grateful for this constant rhythm of reminding myself of what HE says of me. It also established the focus of doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 3:17) because during those months of lockdown NOBODY else saw what I was doing, except the Lord and my family.

So back to this repeated phrase, “And the Father who sees in secret will reward you.” I have recently come across blog posts, articles and conversations whose titles and topics have been “live a quiet life” and it has constantly reminded me of these scriptures. I can often get distracted and caught up in the moment and the thrill of doing lots and being busy all the time, and doing things for a reward or response, and it mostly leaves me exhausted, worn out and deflated. But when I choose to live a quiet life – to remain in my lane and do what God has placed before me to do, well – to not become involved in things that don’t concern me (my husband and I have latched onto this phrase: ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’, when either of us start involving ourselves in things not ours to be involved in) – to obey the Holy Spirit when he prompts actions, whether this be a random act of kindness, settling a coffee bill silently, or sending a message – to be engaged with the practices of prayer and fasting – to be present with those around me and slowing down enough to do this well – to live a life of quiet faithfulness – to choose to live intentionally no matter what my circumstances are – when I live a quiet life such as this, I thrive, I blossom, I radiate, I come alive and I succeed. And the best part is that it comes with the promise of a reward from my Heavenly Father, who sees every single part of it.