“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”
Psalms 27:1-4 NKJV
Dwell
In times of trouble, I have found that the best place to be is in the presence of the Lord. When the pressures of the world exert themselves onto my mind and psyche, I find comfort in seeking the Lord in worship, prayer and His word. As I seek Him, the struggles are greatly reduced, and my enemies are vanquished. I maintain an intimacy with God, and I suffer greatly if I do not.
I read one of my favorite psalms today in chapter 27. It is one that I have often gone to in times of trouble, when I felt like the circumstances that I faced were more than I could possibly endure. In those moments of trouble, the word of God is essential, as it reminds the believer that God is faithful, that He is ever present and greater than anything one might face.
In the sweet moments, when I am dwelling in the presence of the Lord, there is a great peace, an amazing joy that surpasses anything earthly I could ever imagine. In those moments, I want to dwell forever, and I will one day, but all too often in the here and now, those moments are fleeting, as the realities of this present time invade.
Re-emerging into the world, fleshly and loud, is painful, much like the awakening of a leg that has gone to sleep. It is jarring. In those moments, it is easy to feel as though God is far away. I cry out to Him.
“Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.”
Psalms 27:7-10 NKJV
Sometimes the reemergence is due to my own sin, my own indiscretion that has pushed me away from the Father, causing a chilling. The truth is the sense of loss is from my end, as God’s love is ongoing and unconditional. The presence of the Holy Spirit convicts me, and I feel the chastisement as the fellowship is not as intimate as before. In those moments, I bow my heart and confess my sins, as I want nothing to come between me and the Lord.
“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”
Psalms 32:2-5 NKJV
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.”
Psalms 51:1-3 NKJV
There is joy in repentance, but even greater joy in obedience. There will come a day when there will be no more sin, no more separation, no more jarring as I will never again leave the dwelling place and enter the world.
I am learning to recognize when I need to leave the noise of everyday life, and take a moment to dwell in the presence of the Lord. I find myself increasingly turning off the tele and putting on worship music. I consider the things of God more each day, as I seek not to relegate my faith to tight time parameters in my life. God is gaining freer reign in me, as He frequently invades my consciousness when I least expect it.
Brothers and sisters, let us dwell with the Lord.
The pressures of this world are seeking to invade our lives day in and day out. The world we live in is dying, and desirous that we die with it. The evil one is going about looking for those he can devour, and his biggest target is the family.
Fathers, I urge you to take the time to dwell with the Lord. You are target number one. The devil has sighted in on you, and he is pressing the trigger. Pull on the whole armor of God.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
Ephesians 6:14-18 NKJV
Again, let us dwell with the Lord.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV
THE PRAYER CHAIR IS OPEN! Send me your requests!
Musings from an idle mind 
I am so thankful that it is just the valley of the “shadow“ of death. Christ is all goodness and mercy! So thankful for repentance and thankful for a perfect Savior willing to die for worthless me. Hope you have a great day Bernie!
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