Moses declared God to be the eternal dwelling place. The Lord – our home – isn’t that a sweet thought to camp upon? In this busy world, many families do not enjoy the full blessings of ‘home’ – it has become a place to stop by rather than the center of life.
Homes are to be much more than a base of operation or a place to sleep. A home is a place of nurturing and growth. A home is to be a place of:
- retreat and rest from the harshness of the world
- warmth and security
- welcome and blessing to others
Our earthly homes are not always all of those things. The dwelling place of God never fails to deliver all that and more! Let us enter in that others may as well!
Scripture has much to say about the dwelling place of the Lord. In the Ark of the Testimony God is said to dwell between the Cherubims. These are the angels who, throughout Scripture, focus on praise and worship for the glory of God. This is a clue and a reminder to us that praise-filled awed for God’s glory is the key to entering His presence! Isaiah tells us that God dwells in the high and holy—and in the contrite and humble. Two vastly distant extremes find a meeting place in God. Truly, our minds cannot contain the breadth of His truths.
In the New Testament, John took care to record much of Jesus’ teachings about dwelling in the Father. Jesus declared Himself as the Door – the only way into the Father’s presence. Heartbreakingly, many of Christ’s own disciples stumbled at this truth and turned away from Him at this point. The humble and contrite heart accepts its limitations and needs—as well as the glorious, high and holy fulfillment of those needs: Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ prayer for us as believers in John 17 offers another glimpse of the splendor of dwelling in God:
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:21
Only when we learn to dwell in God can we be an active part of His glorious eternal purpose: guiding the world to believe in Christ. The love of God flows forth from those in union with Him – His love irresistibly beckons others to enter into the joy of dwelling in Him. May your joy of abiding in God radiate from your life and compel others to enter in!
If you are enjoying this journey, there are two formats of these devotions on Amazon. You can find one here: Alphabet of Names
