Home in God?

Where do you 'dwell?' The word, which I read in a Psalm this morning, became the point of my mediation. To dwell means to be at home. I enjoy traveling, but I really enjoy coming home- more so the older I get! If you visit the church office that I call my 'home' a few hours everyday, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know you're in Jerry's place. There are family photos scattered around and there are mementos that have meaning only to me. My stuff is there. Legal documents, books, letters addressed to me - let you know that 'Jerry lives here.' I love getting to our house, too. When I step through the front door, the familiar surroundings invite me to relax. Unlike a sterile hotel room, my house is arranged to fit my needs, because I dwell there!

In Psalm 91, there is this promise: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV) Great line, right? Sure is, but those words are not just 'a line.' They are true words. We can really trust God and live securely. Who doesn't need security? Life's a fragile thing. We can be brought down by a microscopic virus or a few rogue cells that become malignant. Our friends can betray us for reasons they alone understand. Companies that employ us collapse or the CEO decides to send our job to India. There are the 'wars and rumors of wars,' that swirl around us. In that scenario of dangerous possibilities, the child of God says, "I trust God, and I am safely secure." Well, sometimes; but often we are afraid. Why? Because we do not 'dwell... and rest in the shadow of the Almighty.' What does that really mean?

A couple of lines later in the Psalm there is this descriptive phrase: "He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers." (Psalm 91:4, NLT) The picture is that of a mother hen sensing danger and calling her chicks to the safety of her covering. When I was a little boy, I tended the chickens on the farm. Dad loved to hatch chicks and I saw those little fluffy chicks; who were totally helpless on their own, completely vulnerable, respond to the urgent clucks of the hen who had extended her wings, run and disappear under her in the soft down of her breast feathers! When she settled down, there was no evidence that she had hidden 8-10 little chicks. Their safety was found in proximity!

God invites you and me to stay close to Him, hidden from the searing heat of life by His shadow, secure because we stay in His Presence. Does this mean that we need to live in the church sanctuary, that we have to have an open Bible always in our hand? No. His invitation to us is that we keep our hearts and minds 'at home' in Him. When we become aware that we are being drawn away from trusting Him by an illusion of self-sufficiency, or that we are looking for meaning in the 'stuff' of life- we will intentionally return our attention to Him. It means we won't give sin an anchor in our mind, that we will recognize and reject temptations when they arise from the world, the sinful nature, or the evil forces that are intent on our destruction. It means that when the Spirit calls us to turn our attention or change the channel, we will run, not walk to Him. And as we make our home in Him, we are secure.

Jesus invites us to dwell, too, but He uses a different word. He invites us to 'remain in Me.' He explains His invitation this way. “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples." (John 15:4-8, The Message)

Are you 'at home' in God's Presence?
Spend enough time with Him to make His Presence become your home.

Here's a word about a man who followed God to his home. Let it speak to you about your destiny, your spiritual home today. "By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God." (Hebrews 11:8-10, The Message)
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Feeling at home in the presence of Jesus,
Hearing Him call me His own.
Just feeling at home, feeling at home.
Putting my feet right under His table,
Knowing I won't be alone.
Just feeling at home, feeling at home.

You couldn't have told me
I'd find what I found.
Contentment and peace from above.
Feeling at home in the presence of Jesus,
Laying way back in His love.
Warming myself by the fires of His Spirit,
Camping right close to His throne.
Just feeling at home, feeling at home.


Feeling At Home In The Presence Of Jesus
Copyright: 1975 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management