Where Do You Abide?

Where are you abiding (Psalm 91)?

Dwell – Abide – these are words with permanence. When we read Scripture, particularly Psalm 91, we see that the Lord did not use terms for “passing through” or “momentarily pausing” in His presence. He uses words with staying power.

In the opening verses of Psalm 91, the writer is speaking of someone who finds permanence in God’s presence…in the safe keeping of His shadow, in the secret place with Him. He uses two words, one right after another "He who dwells in the shelter of the most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty". But these are promises with a condition- it is He who DWELLS in the secret place of the most High, that shall ABIDE in the shadow of the Almighty. If we really want to abide with the Lord, we must dwell with Him in the secret places- in the times of prayer and contemplation that draw us closer to Him. The person who does this can truly say that the Lord has become their refuge and fortress.

These words were not used on accident either. A refuge and fortress. Both terms of protection and provision. In the military, especially in ancient and early days of war, the fortress was the place of both protection and provision. If the soldiers could make it to the fortress, they would find a safe place to rest and recover from a journey, or from a battle.

The word “abode” has always been synonymous with living quarters- such as the term "welcome to my humble abode”. It is the place where we spend our downtime. It is, or at least it should be, our safe place. Our place to unwind and relax- to really be ourselves, without feeling the need for the pretense of society.

In our lives, we should work to make our homes, or our abodes, places of safety and refuge for our families. It should be a place where we go to escape from the judgement of society, the pressures to fit in or conform, and the place where we know that we can experience unconditional love, to the deepest depth of our human capacity.

Now, being in the fortress does not mean the enemy won’t attack- in fact, we know that fortresses are a beacon for enemy advance. However, the Lord has an answer for that as well as in Psalm 91:3-6- all these things may come at us- they may strive to overtake us, but the Lord will cover us with His wings, and we shall be able, once again, to take refuge.

That’s twice now that the term refuge has been used in just a few short verses- don’t think that is a coincidence!

As we read on, in Psalm 91-9-10- the same terminology is being used here- again with the stipulation that these assurances come to those who have decided to make the Lord their DWELLING place, the He will provide refuge (that’s the third usage of that word in 9 verses!). And the promise is another one of God’s protection- from evil that could fall upon us, and sickness and disease that threatens to overtake.

He even enlists the angels to watch over us- to ensure that we are kept from paths that could cause harm to us, they will bear us up and protect us. There have been countless stories of people who have encountered angelic assistance. People who have been spared from terrible accidents, rescued, protected, assisted, etc by kind people, only to have them disappear when the person turns to express their gratitude. Angels are not going to stick around for our worship- they give all that to God- they are just doing their job!

The section of verses that really tie all of this together is found in Psalm 91:14-16.

   Why does God provide this deliverance and protection to us? Because we have “set” our love upon Him. We have determined, made a decision, drawn a line in the sand, so to speak. We have chosen to follow Him in love- and what does it mean to love God? Jesus answered that question in John 14:23- and listen to the words Jesus uses here…

            “Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Did you hear that? We (meaning God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit) will come to him, and we will make our home with him. Abide- Dwell. If we choose to love Jesus, and in loving Him, we keep His commandments and honor His word- then the Father, and Jesus, will come and dwell with us- abide with us- make their home with us! Who wouldn’t want to live with Jesus and Father God, Amen?

Here again, though is a caveat- because Jesus goes on to say in John 14:24 “whoever does not love me does not keep my word…”

I have often expressed this same train of thought to my children, and have been rebuked for it. However I stick to the truth of it, because I have taken it straight from Scripture- even in fact, straight from Jesus Himself. When my children began to act unruly or undisciplined, I would say to them, “You are not loving mommy very well right now”. They would, of course, reply to the contrary, assuring me of their love and devotion. But I would remind them…how can you show you love someone, and treat them with no respect or honor? How can you love someone and lie, cheat, or steal from them? How can you love someone and do the exact opposite of what they ask you to do?

Is this not what we do when we willfully turn from Jesus in sin? Of course, like any other area in Scripture, Jesus was not naive in proclaiming this. He was well versed with man’s weakness, and He knows our propensity towards caving to temptation. But yet the words were uttered nonetheless.

Why were they given? I believe it is because while Jesus knows the weakness of the human heart towards sin, He also knows the capacity of devotion that can occur in a heart that dwells with God, that abides with Him; and that the person who does these things will grow closer and closer to Him. The person who is growing closer and closer to God is going to be one who is going to fall more and more in love with Him. And the person who loves God more and more will not have the same capacity to sin as someone who is not abiding with Him. So the key to loving God well is staying as close as possible to Him. God is so ready and willing to be close to us. He calls to us in James 4:8 “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…”. He will come as close to us as we will draw close to Him.

Jesus also stated in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain (abide, dwell) in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

There it is again! The concept of abiding- of dwelling close to Jesus- of receiving the very essence of life from Him. Our ability to be fruitful in this life- and knowing that if we keep ourselves separate from Him- and attempt to “do life” by ourselves, we will fail.

Can you imagine a soldier trying to withstand an enemy outside the walls of the fortress? Apart from the safety and protection of that refuge, and standing solitary without the support of the other soldiers and arsenal (the very angel’s who make up God’s heavenly army)? They would likely be cut down in seconds.

And yet- there we stand…out on the battlefield alone. Too wrapped up in our own agendas to notice the enemy advancing towards our doorsteps. Too aloof to the dangers that lurk around every corner and ill prepared to fight them off.

Jesus has promised safety and fruitfulness. He has promised fulfillment and accomplishment in our lives if we would just link arms with Him and learn from Him.

Psalm 91:14 says He will set us on high, because he has known my name- how can you ever get to know someone if you don’t live close to them…if you don’t truly “do life” with them? Would you want to be in close relationship with someone if you never spent any time with them? How would you fall in love with them? And this verse also reminds us that God is the one who elevates- He will choose the day and hour of our promotion- and we can rest assured that He will set us on the right high places, to ensure that we will not have a big head when we get there.

Psalm 91:15 assures us that He will answer our prayers- we can call upon Him and He will answer us- He will be with us (abiding with us) in times of trouble- he will deliver us- he will honor us.

Notice also- Jesus NEVER said that our lives would be without trouble. As I stated earlier, a fortress is going to be a beacon for attack- the person who is striving to grow closer to God, who wants to make more of an impact for God’s kingdom, is going to be on the enemies hit list. Even the person who is closest to Him- who abides with Him daily and makes his home with God, will experience times of trouble. Jesus never said the trouble would not come- but He did promise to be with us through it, and to deliver us from it, and bring honor to us through it. It truly is a revelation of what He tells us in Rom 8:28 “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who LOVE HIM- who have been called according to His purpose”

We don’t have to fear the enemy- we don’t have to worry about what He is going to do to us. We only need to be focused on abiding with Him- growing deeper with Him- and Loving Him.

And how do we love Him? By obeying Him.

And how do we grow in our desire to obey Him? By abiding with Him- by dwelling with Him- by leaning on and trusting in Him.

In closing, Psalm 91:16 states- "with long life...I will satisfy Him and show him my salvation." This is both for eternity, and for the life that we live today. We know we have assurance of eternal security if we have placed our trust and faith in Christ, and the redemptive work that He did on the cross.

And while that is essential, and beautiful, and mysterious, life is SO much more than just that living with that assurance. If that is all we are seeking, we are sorely missing out.

Jesus wants to satisfy us in this life- to show us His salvation- to honor us. It is a reward for a life sought to honor Him. We honor Him when we obey Him. Just as a well-behaved child honors his parents, and people speak well of them, so we are honored by the Lord in the sight of others when we obey Him. He wants us to see this life as a great adventure, full of twists and turns, but one that we can trust Him on. If you have ever stepped foot onto a roller coaster, you know what I am talking about. 

You get on the car, and it begins to roll. You don’t know exactly what every turn is going to feel like, and there will likely be a moment that you will feel like you are going to die- but you don’t. Somewhere in the midst of the terror- you experience euphoria (or at least it is what I have been told- I personally don’t like roller coasters). For those who are thrill seekers- they experience all the highs and lows of the coaster ride- and Jesus wants us to get in the car with Him. He wants us to sit back and relax, and trust Him to handle all the ups and downs with us.

Abide- Dwell- let these words sink deep into your heart.

Fortress- Refuge- these are not words to be taken lightly.

We need to be “dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty”- we serve a God so big and capable, that simply abiding under His “shadow” is enough to provide all the protection and peace that we need. 

And He meets us- in the secret places- in the quiet reflections of our hearts, in those moments that are just between us and Him- they are precious- they are sacred- and they are essential to a life well lived.