The Dwelling Place

‘He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’ Psalms 91:1 

A light bulb plugged into the source is defective if it doesn’t produce light, so is a Christian who is plugged into Christ, but has not made himself/herself a dwelling place for the light/Jesus.

Imagine a man running up a mountain, away from mountain robbers, with no hope of help in sight. He keeps looking up for help and down to see how far the robbers are from him, his heart almost exploding. He climbs a ledge and sees a church, and runs forward, energized. He can hear the mountain robbers getting nearer, but there is hope. He races into the church and crashes through the front door, where there are several priests assembled in a meeting. The priests see the hoard of robbers running into the church and advance, to guard the man and to ensure the interlopers understand that they are on sacred ground, where nothing evil can befall a dweller. If you were the man, would you remain in that place, protected by God?

We are expected to dwell/remain/live in the presence of God. Life happens, but Jesus said that we are to be of good cheer, He has overcome, which means He is already victorious over life. How do we live victorious in Christ? By remaining in God’s presence at all times, avoiding arrows, pestilences, etc. However, the dwelling place is not available just for eating, sleeping, and living out our lives in rest and comfort. It’s there for us to understand that a transformation is expected of us. The man who found safety in God would have to leave the church and return home, but if he leaves without an understanding of where the peace, security, and rest he experienced came from, he missed it. 

In Christ, we are the light bulbs of the world. We are not only to dwell in Christ but to make room for His Spirit to dwell in us as well. We are to walk with Him all the time, and that’s the only way our lives can make sense. If the truth of who Christ is, is not seen in our lives, we are just defective light bulbs that are plugged into the source, unable to give light. What do you do to those? Take them out and trash them, then fix in working bulbs.

This is the truth of the gospel, one none of us can run away from. Christ is not seen in our talking or writing, but in the way we live. The Holy Spirit is there to help, guide, correct, and lead us into all truth. We are like the man that ran to God for help, and we are to continue on our way with the Holy Spirit because we know that it is only in Christ that we are safe, and even in death, He is glorified.

Till next time, be transformed!!