DWELL WITH ME

This remarkable expression isn’t limited to a particular time or specific nation; this ageless promise is for every one of God’s children throughout time. A reading of the whole psalm speaks to those melancholy times when life seems overpowering and way too short. Moses, the author of the psalm, knew a thing or two about life not going in the direction he had planned. He understood how easy it is to be hijacked by events and circumstances, which is why his opening verse is so pregnant with meaning. Moses sets our vision higher by speaking of a Person, not a place or thing, as our dwelling place.

Maybe it’s a mansion in Beverly Hills or a tiny apartment in the inner city, but whatever it is, home is where we instinctively go for help and reassurance. Humans long for security, so we’ve perfected the building of all sorts of things that provide comfort. But when that which we’ve built comes crashing down, when the storms of life sweep it away, what then?

Forty years of wandering in the wilderness, living without house or home, taught Moses a truth relevant in every age. When our innermost man places all his hopes securely in God alone, we discover more than we’d ever find under a roof: protection, relief, supply, and abounding love. The person Moses turned to is the Lord, Adonai, the Creator and Sovereign ruler of the universe. There isn’t a dwelling stronger than He. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) Abiding in the Lord’s presence infuses our minds with a confident trust that’ll allow Him to lead us anywhere and everywhere because His shelter isn’t limited to a building.

Moses looked back through the generations of the patriarchs, all the way to Adam, but our view is even greater. God’s promise beams even brighter through the lens of time. Perpetual change is a given in life, but this assurance remains fixed; the Lord has been and forever will be the dwelling place of all generations.