Tag: psalms

They who Dwell

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The Psalms can quite often put words together more eloquently to what is stirring in our souls.  There are numerous times I’ve flicked through the pages of that incredible book of songs and poetry to find something that resonates deep down.

Today I read Psalm 91..

It’s almost impossible to read it and not actually get excited. It’s loaded with promises and good things for us as the people of God… what’s not to love about a God who holds, rescues and delivers us from trouble.

Many of us know trouble only too well and a Psalm like this can offer some sort of relief and calm in a moment of chaos. Perhaps it’s as simple as reminding our souls that the one who saves is close by, aware and more importantly is the one cheering us on through it all.

But I’m pausing at verse 1 today… a moment of leaning in, keen to learn and understand.

He who dwells….  She who dwells…. They who dwell…

DWELLING, in so many ways is a condtion laid out.  We experience all of this goodness and in a way benefit from God – but we only experience that when we are dwelling. When we are deep into that secret place with Him.. that’s the place and space for this experience.  It’s intimate, personal and close. The secret place of knowing. A knowing that goes beyond knowledge and moves to an experiential awareness of a known concept.

We have a choice…

We are called, not forced into dwelling.

I know all too well how quickly peace in my heart can come and go.  Over the years I’ve found it no coincidence that all of this correlates to how close I’m choosing to be to the Lord. In moments of panic, chaos and the great unknown, I know I’m growing by the measure of time it takes me to run into His presence.  I’m learning to do that quickly. It’s not the last thing to do when nothing else is working, it has to be the first. He has to be the first.

Let’s be people who “know” what it is to dwell in that secret place, not just so we get all these incredible benefits, but because that secret place is the best place to be with Him irrespective of what is going down in our lives.

PSALM 91 (AMP)

1 HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

3 For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4 [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,

6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

8 Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, [Ps. 91:1, 14.]

10 There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.

11 For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].

12 They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. [Luke 4:10, 11; Heb. 1:14.]

13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot. [Luke 10:19.]

14 Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness–trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

The waters of rest….

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Psalm 23 is my Psalm. I know it’s a common one – the one that everyone knows, but I have to fight off the urge to shout “hey that’s mine” when people read it. It’s the first passage of scripture I remember learning as a little girl – and in my journey over the last number of years it’s been the verses that God has opened up as I learn to lean in and rest beside the still waters where he leads me ever so faithfully.

Resting.

What does that even mean?

I’ve learnt that it doesn’t mean do nothing. It’s not complacency. It’s a quiet – at peace disposition – as we tune in and trust in a God who holds us together.  Heb 4 talks about the fight to enter Gods rest,  and I have experienced that fight, that element of me choosing and working to stay in that place. So it’s not about doing nothing.

This Psalm for me is more that just comforting words to quiet my beating heart that races with worries and concerns about life.  It’s words prompt and direct me to a person that changes everything.

I had an incredible moment a few years ago – again my nose in this Psalm soaking in its truth. Reminding myself that he leads me to good places.

My journey has been one of trust – like everyone’s I guess.  My eldest daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was just 2 weeks old.  Needless to say – the questions, the prayers, the hope, the wait, frustration, the patience and trust have been and continue to be landmarks in this incredible journey we find ourselves on.

It’s where the words on a page of a bible are either just words or a way of life. It’s either something we read or something we live.  And in moments when things don’t work out the way we planned in our head – we have a choice. Do we really trust in the God of the bible?  Is he who he says he is?

For me – that’s where I find my rest.  That he is a good shepherd, he watches over me – he’s leading me to good places and I trust those words.

Psalm 22 – the Psalm before (obviously) gives me the reason why I can rest like Psalm 23 suggests.

I had a moment of realising that Psalm 22 is that Psalm that points us to the cross. It’s the   psalm that Jesus quotes when he was dying on the cross.  And whoever decided to place these Pslams together is a true genius.  Becasuse there is incredible truth knowing that it’s only because of Jesus, it’s only because of the cross that we even get to experience this rest that the word talks about.

I love it.

We get to live in Pslam 23 because of Psalm 22 so to speak.

Jesus declared himself at that moment of victory – it is finished. His work was completed and he sat down.

There is no more striving, working, trying to get. It is finished.

And that’s what we rest in.

As a great man in my church says – the work of Jesus was completely perfect and perfectly complete.

He didn’t leave anything out.

And that is the hope that I hold onto. I’m holding – that’s the effort part.

Choosing to believe His promises are true even when it doesn’t look or appear that way at times.

It is done. It is finished. Breathe. Trust. Rest.