What does it mean to make God my dwelling place?
What words come to mind when you think of home?
I think of things such as security,
rest,
belonging,
a place to be me,
and the place where I live.
Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
What does it mean to make God my dwelling place?
Do I have to live at church? Read the Bible all day long? Of course not! No one can live that way unless maybe that’s your profession. I believe it has great significance, though, in how we live out our faith.
Sometimes followers of Jesus tend to VISIT God more than DWELL with Him. We go to Him in times of need, for Sunday church, before mealtimes or before bed. We do the perfunctory things Christians are supposed to do; the things our parents taught us to do. Our lives revolve around us, with a side of Jesus. This does not constitute making Christ our home.
Dwelling in the shelter of The Most High is more than merely an obligation of the Christian; more than just religion relegated to steeples and little old ladies. It means that I should live each moment – from when I rise in the morning til I lay my head down at night – as in the presence of God Almighty. The mundane tasks of the day become acts of service – and it changes everything, right down to my grumbling spirit.
Living in Christ also comes with a promise that those who dwell in Him will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty! To rest in the shadow of a King meant to be under the king’s protection.
Isn’t this what our hearts desire? To lay down our worries and fears and to rest, knowing that the Almighty King of heaven and earth shelters us in His shadow? This is the blessing that is available to us when we make Christ our home.
Do I make God my dwelling place, or do I visit from time to time? Do I begin the day with my own agenda, or do I seek to follow Christ in everything I do? Is each new day another opportunity to ask Him how He wants to use me? How I can glorify Him? How I can follow Him, love Him more, love others more, and allow His light to shine through the cracks in me?
Living in Christ is different than visiting.
