Dwelling

On Sunday morning during a prayer time befoe the morning meeting, God spoke one word to me - dwell. Nancy had read and then prayed from Psalm 91. Then followed discussion on several points from this psalm. Eventually I shared what God had dropped into my spirit.

Dwell speaks of where you live and where you are at home, comfortable and at ease.

The promises of the psalm are for those who meet the conditions of the first two verses. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable
and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I
lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust!" [Amplified]

First, the promise is for those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High. It's not a place everyone knows about. It is secret. It is available but must be sought out and pressed into. This promise doesn't apply to just everyone who calls himself a Christian. Rather, it is for those who are wholeheartedly following after and depending on Jesus.

The phrase, "shall remain stable and fixed," has a double meaning. First, and primarily, it is a benefit or a result of dwelling in the secret place. If you dwell in that place you will be stable and fixed. Secondly, it speaks of an aspect of how we dwell in Him. Our focus and our commitment is stable and fixed. We aren't jumping around from one thing to the next. No, our eyes and our trust are on the Lord. We aren't moving!

The person who meets the conditions for these promises is one who says, "The Lord is my Refuge, my Fortress and my God. On Him I lean, rely and trust." It is one thing to speak the words and another to actually live by what you say. In this case, the person speaks what he truly believes - it is in his heart. He views the Lord as his Refuge and his Fortress. He also acts as if this was true. Therefore, in reality, he leans on the Lord and relies on Him. In Him he does confidently trust.

As I write these words I recall a passage from Psalm 125. God spoke to me strongly from the first two verses a few years ago. I even wrote a song about this. In this scripture God talks about, and invites you, to become a person who trusts in, leans on, and hopes in the Lord. He "will be like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides and stands .." The next verse gives us the reason: "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people."

God is giving an invitation to learn to trust Him totally, without reservation. The result will be a person firmly established, fixed and not going to be moved!

In the middle of Psalm 91 there is another mention of the word dwell. These promises shall be yours "because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place." In verse 2 the person says the Lord is my Refuge. Now here,the person has made the Lord his Refuge.

In verse 14 the dwelling idea is further explained. This person "has set his love upon Me." And, "He knows and understands My name." By living in the secret place this love for the Lord will,undoubtedly, grow. The evidence is there. God says you've set your love upon Me. And He says, "He knows and understands My name." That is because he has spent time with Him. The relationship grows and is intimate as we spend much time with Him in the secret place.

Jesus placed a very high priority on "knowing" Him. More on this in a future article. There are numerous things to consider about dwelling. I plan to do a series of articles on this topic. God bless you as you begin to live in the secret place!