Dwelling Place

A dwelling place is where one lives (habitation, house, home) or where one returns to after the day’s work or journey. It is the place where one returns to for rest and runs to for refuge. If you accept that dwelling place means your house or your place of rest and refuge, then I would like you to see the Lord Jesus Christ as your house, habitation, dwelling, and place of rest and refuge – citing the Psalmist who says “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in generations” (Psalm 90:1 NRSV). Further, since you are very familiar with your house (dwelling place), I will contend that you ought also to be familiar with the Lord Jesus Christ (your dwelling place). As your house is never too far for you to go, so it is that going to Jesus should not be too far for you to go. He is not somewhere unreachable or separated from you. You need to see your Jesus as a Savior who is close to you.

In a house, everything needed is available; and so it is in Jesus – you find all you need:

In a dwelling place (house) there is a kitchen for eating and so in Jesus you find bread of life (Jn. 6:35). Living room is in the house for relaxation; in Jesus you find peace of mind (Isa. 53:5). There is bathroom in a house where we clean up; also, in Jesus we find cleansing for our sins (1 Jn. 1:7-9). A bedroom is there in a house where we rest; glory be to God, in Jesus you find rest, grace, and rejuvenation (Mat. 11:29). Houses are there at the same location; Jesus is stable: the same yesterday, today, and forever more. The walls of a house protect it from weather and various other dangerous conditions. Jesus is our shield and protector from all dangers. You are the one who must remain in this dwelling place to enjoy all the provisions that are made available in Him.

Please note, you do not have to own a physical house for Jesus to be your dwelling place. Psalm 90 is actually a prayer said by Moses, a man who led his people in the wilderness. They had no permanent physical place to live; only movable tents, yet he saw God as their dwelling place. This is to say, you may have problems, but if you have Jesus, you have bread, peace, forgiveness, and rest. If you have Jesus, you have a hiding place in God.

Do you see Jesus as a God you can run to anytime? No one needs to show you where your kitchen or bedroom is; no one needs to cajole you to feel secure in Jesus. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; …” – Acts 17:28. In Jesus, you find security; this is why David says in Psalm 91:1 that, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty …” Have you found a friend in Jesus? Now is the time to take Him as your friend and become familiar with Him, as you would with every corner of your physical house. Seek to know Jesus and the power that raised Him from the dead. He is not far from you, and you can trust him to give you rest now and forever—Jesus, our dwelling place in all generations.