The Lord as Our Dwelling Place
(This is an older picture I took that is not at sunrise, it is an afternoon at the beach. This is a peaceful place that I like to go to for an escape.)
"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
David's words are so full of emotion here. No wonder David is called a man after God's own heart. He is so on fire for the Lord and desires to be with Him at all times in his life, no matter the circumstances. The Psalms are full of his praise as well as his troubled prayers, but one thing remains constant, His zeal for God! I want that kind of fire and love for the Lord. I am seeking that.
The word dwell really popped out at me today. Dwell: to linger over, emphasize, ponder in thought speech or writing, to live or continue in a given condition (Dictionary.com). I dwell on things, I don't think they are the right thing though. I had not really thought about what it might look like to dwell in the House of the Lord forever or to dwell in God's shadow. That's a pretty powerful shadow to dwell in.
I dwell on the past, on the things that I have done, the things that I said. I dwell on the future, hoping for the next stage of my life to come soon and what it might look like when it gets here. I don't dwell on the Lord though. I spend time each morning in prayer, devotions, and journaling with God, but all day long that is not where I am. I am in my own world and trying to take control of it with my own hands, but God's hands is where I will find rest.
I am tired and I need God to give me rest. God's word says that if I dwell in the house of the Lord, then He will give me rest. It is tiring, trying to control everything and everyone's actions. That's not my job though. My job is to love them as Christ loves us. I need to do a better job of looking to God and turning to fast to Him in prayer when any and all situations arise.
Where do you dwell? What do you do to dwell in the Lord's shadow? How does that impact your life? Please share!
I dwell on way too much worldly things, stupid stuff that doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things, like a comment I made worrying if offended someone, or the guilt I have if I say no to something, worry, even the clothes I'm going to wear! I have wasted so much of my life dwelling on stuff that it makes me sick to think about! I was thinking about how I can stop myself from dwelling on these things and move to dwelling in God's shadow and I've decided that when I catch myself doing this I will pray...pray for whatever is on my mind, pray for others, pray for God to turn my attention to him. This way I can get my thoughts off of whatever petty thing I am dwelling on and move into God's shadow. We'll see how it goes! Good post, Jill! I so need these, keep it up!
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