I give you treasures hidden in the darkness,

and riches hidden in secret places,

that you may know that I am the Lord,

who calls you by name,

The God of Israel.

Isaiah 45, 3

Last post I wrote about treasures in the dark. Now I want to write about riches in secret places. Maybe Advent 2023 can be a time to look for - and find - the riches God has hidden for us?

What does "secret places" mean? I think it's those places where only God and I are. Where He invites me in. Alone. Those places only He and I know about. Secret from everyone else. Where He has hidden some riches He wants to give me. I must actively seek out and look for what He has for me. Set aside time in my everyday life. Otherwise I will miss out on something that He longs for me to find.

It's not always easy. It doesn't happen by itself. There are so many things that take our time and attention. Social media, news, netflix, people, unsettled sin... Anything that distracts us, so the days pass and we forget to seek out the secret places. Forget to look for what He longs to give us.

We are now in the Advent season. The weeks before Christmas that are meant for waiting and expecting. Not only waiting for the celebration of Jesus' birth, but also an expectation to meet Him every day. A reminder to slow down and take time for the secret places. There are so many riches He has for us there. There is so much He wants to give us. Tell us. Make in us. So that we can bring the riches of God with us where we are.

Let's seek out the secret places with God. Let's go there with the expectation of finding. Actively looking for the riches he has for us there. For everyday and every day.

These are the secret places God invites us all into. Secret to everyone else, just God and you. But much of what He gives us there, we can share generously with those around us. I believe that many of the treasures that are there for us become even richer for us when we share them.

I wish you a blessed Advent with enough time and peace to seek out the secret places where you and God can be, where you can find the riches God has for you.

- Ingfrid Mundal, Bodø 6/12-23

"Let us seek the secret places with God. Let us go there with the expectation of finding."