Psalm 91 - Study 21 - God Our Habitation
We read in Psalm 91:9, “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-the Most High, who is my refuge” (ESV)
In our studies based on Psalm 91 we have realized that this is a Psalm that elaborates the protection of God over His children. The word ‘safety’ has become so important to everyone these days. Primarily everyone wants to be safe and secure from the attack of the deadly disease that threatens all of us. Recently we heard of the invasion of swarms of locusts that caused massive destruction in many places, and people sincerely sought ways to safeguard the crops from their attacks. Of late, there has been news about war at our borders, and we sincerely pray for the security of our soldiers. During these days of financial recession we pray that families and people around us be secure, and that their needs be taken care of during this economic crisis. No matter what calamity we may be challenged with, Psalm 91 is God’s word of assurance that He is the protector and guardian, to those who put their trust in Him.
If we take careful note we will observe that Psalm 91:9 will appear quite different in its rendering from all of the other verses in that chapter. In this verse there appears to be a discourse between two people. While one says that God is his refuge, he recognizes that the other person has made God his dwelling place or habitation. There is a clear distinction between refuge and habitation. Habitation is a place of dwelling whereas refuge is a place of security that one runs to in times of trouble or calamity.
A majority of people have made God their refuge and seek Him only when things turn bad. There are others who have made God their dwelling place in whom they reside securely at all times. To help understand this let me give you an example from our day to day lives. Those who drive a car know that the steering wheel is of utmost importance to keep the vehicle on course. However, most of us will also have in our cars a spare tyre or stepny, which generally never comes to our mind unless we end up with a puncture. The steering wheel is likened to those who make God their habitation, abiding in Him at all times because they have realized their need for God to chart their life’s course. On the other hand, the spare tyre can be compared to those who make God their refuge and think about Him or turn to Him only in times of danger or difficulty. When God is someone’s dwelling place, the ups and downs of life will not in any way affect their relationship with God, for they will abide securely in Him, and do everything that pleases the Lord.
A family who made God their Habitation
We read in Luke 1:5-6, “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth had God's approval. They followed all the Lord's commands and regulations perfectly.” (GW)
Here was a priestly family, the name of the husband was Zechariah and his wife was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous and obeyed God’s commands and decrees without blame.
In Luke 1:7, “Yet, they never had any children because Elizabeth couldn't become pregnant. Both of them were too old to have children.” (GW)
To a couple who found favor in the eyes of God, there was still one thing that was lacking. Elizabeth was barren and unable to bear a child. I am sure they prayed to God for many long years that they would have a child. They had now come to a stage in their lives when having a child seemed an impossibility, as both of them had passed the age of child bearing. In the midst of their inadequacy Zechariah and Elizabeth did not waver in their faith in God. At the appointed time God heard their prayers, and blessed them with a son, who became John the Baptist.
There are those who have been praying fervently and when these prayers are not answered as they expected, have decided to walk away from God. They have stopped praying because they feel their prayers have been futile. If you are wearied from not having received the answer to your prayers, the Lord wants to encourage you to make Him your dwelling place. It is when we do so will we see that the Lord will intervene to do the impossible in our lives in His perfect time. We may not understand all the times and seasons that God has ordained for us, but we do have the guarantee that we have a loving Father who will make everything perfect in due course.
A man who made God his habitation
We read in Job 1:1-2, “A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity: He was decent, he feared God, and he stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters.” (GW)
There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. Job was a wealthy man with great affluence in society and he had ten children. Job was blameless, upright, one who feared God and shunned evil. However, if we read the account of Job as recorded in Job 1:13-18 we will realize that everything that was his, his wealth, his position and children were all taken away from him on a single day.
We read in Job 1:18-19, “While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother's home when suddenly a great storm swept across the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people, and they died. I'm the only one who has escaped to tell you." (GW)
The tragic news that reached Job’s ears that day was that all of his ten children were killed at the same time when a severe storm struck the house that they were all in. We can imagine the unimaginable grief and agony that must have been Job’s, to hear that he lost all his children in one day.
Let us read to know what a heart broken man like Job had to say in Job 1:20, “Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped.” (GW)
Job expressed his profound grief when he tore his robe, shaved his head and fell to the ground in worship. When we consider the intense loss and grief that Job went through, I am not sure if there are even a few who would have experienced such profound sorrow. In the midst of such acute heartache and grief, Job fell down to worship God.
Here’s Job’s amazing response to God as found in Job 1:21, He said, "Naked I came from my mother, and naked I will return. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away! May the name of the LORD be praised." (GW)
As we meditate in depth on the above mentioned verse, we will comprehend that Job had made God his sure dwelling place. Job has fully understood that everything that he had and possessed were given to him by God Himself. Job accepted this truth and had the assurance that since all of his ten children were given to him by God, he would not question God when He decided to take them all to be with Him. Not only did Job accept his lot, but he also praised God in the midst of his unbearable grief even though he was heartbroken, and his feelings were utterly crushed. To Job, God was not just his refuge, but His sure habitation, and therefore nothing could shake his faith in God.
Many believers are unable to handle even a minor loss in their business and walk away from God in a time of crisis. Have we ever stopped to appreciate and recognize the fact that our parents, our spouse or our children are given to us by God? It is wise for us to understand and accept the fact that loss is inevitable as long as we live here on earth. So also death is a certainty for everyone who is born into this world.
We read in Job 1:22, “Through all this Job did not sin or blame God for doing anything wrong.” (GW)
Though everything was against Job, through all the untold hardships, Job did not sin nor did he blame God for anything.
Job’s wife reacts differently
In Job 2:9-10, His wife asked him, "Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!" He said to her, "You're talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. Shouldn't we also accept the bad?" Through all this Job's lips did not utter one sinful word. (GW)
Both Job and his wife faced the exact same crisis in their lives. While Job praised God and said
‘The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away!’ his wife on the other hand was so agitated that she told Job, ‘Curse God and die!’ The response of Job to his wife was astounding. He referred to his wife as a godless fool who had lost her sense of understanding of who God really was. Then he admonished her that those who are ready to accept the good that comes from God, should also be willing to accept the bad from Him. Most amazingly, through all of these profound difficulties, Job did not utter one sinful word.
These are the exact two ways people of the world will handle loss and grief. They will either like Job praise God or like his wife turn bitter and curse God.
God restored everything back to Job
When Job was firm in his faith in God, this was the outcome that he experienced in his life.
We read in Job 42:12, “The LORD blessed the latter years of Job's life more than the earlier years.”(GW)
God restored back to Job everything he had lost and the latter part of Job’s life was so blessed by God, more than he could imagine or comprehend.
Let us be reminded that we do have a life here on earth, but we are all journeying towards a home that God has prepared for His children. While this world is temporary, the place that God is preparing for us is eternal. As children of God we may have had losses and gone through paths of deep grief. Nonetheless, the question we need to ask ourselves is, ‘Have we made God only our refuge or is He our eternal habitation?’
If we make God our dwelling place, just as God blessed Zechariah and Elizabeth, just as He blessed Job and his wife, He will surely bless us and raise us up. He is a faithful God who does not lie. We may not have answers to all the questions that arise in our hearts while we are on this side of eternity. However, there is one truth we can be certain of and that is the fact that the God we believe in is good, mighty, faithful and He is able to bless us with what we need at the appropriate time.
The three men who made God their habitation
We read in Daniel 3:1, “King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and he had it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.”(GNB)
Also we read in Daniel 3:5-6, “When you hear the sound of rams' horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments, bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever doesn't bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." (GW)
In this situation there are three young men who worshiped the living God. However, the order of King Nebuchadnezzar was that everyone in his empire should worship the golden statue that he had set up, failing which they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. When they refused to bow down to the golden image, they were taken to the king’s presence.
Here’s the response these three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego gave the king.
We read in Daniel 3:17-18, “If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty. But if he doesn't, you should know, Your Majesty, we'll never honor your gods or worship the gold statue that you set up." (GW)
The first declaration they made to the king was that the God whom they served and honored was well able to save them from the blazing furnace and also from the fury of the king. Nevertheless, they also told him that even if the Lord did not deliver them, they would still be faithful to honor the living God whom they believed in. They also affirmed that no matter what the outcome they would never compromise and bow down to other gods or the golden statue the king had set up.
This is the word of testimony that should be ours as well. When trials and hardships seems to overwhelm us, we must cling on with faith to the Lord and allow His will to be done in our lives.
We looked at Zechariah and Elizabeth who were firm in their faith and at an unexpected time God blessed them with their son, John the Baptist. Job had everything in life but one day he lost it all. When we listen to the words of Job we realize that Job placed his hope not on the material blessings he possessed or on his children, but on God. That was the reason why he could stand firm in the Lord when he passed through such intense loss and bereavement. The Lord restored everything in double to Job in the latter half of his life. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were zealous for the Lord and stood firm in their faith in God and took a stand before a powerful king. The Lord delivered them from that fiery furnace and God’s name was honored by the king throughout his empire. All of them made God their habitation and God was honored through their lives.
God is indeed our refuge in times of trouble, but may He always be our dwelling place. May we be constantly reminded from Psalm 91:9, “Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the most High, your habitation;” (KJV)
Pastor F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
