| Psalm 91:9 & 10 – 25 January 2018 |
Because you have made the Lord who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.
NKJV
These verses bring to my mind the picture of a little toddler trying to find his way through a crowded place, like a big and busy airport. He is surrounded by a sea of legs and he feels quite confused, lost and alone, as he looks up at people who are all bigger and stronger than him. He is afraid and longs for his parents, and he begins to cry out loudly for his Dad just when his father finds him and picks him up. Suddenly the crowd around him is not scary any more, as his 6 ft 4 father holds him close! He is now looking down on the sea of people around them, seeing the tops of their heads instead of their knees! He feels the strong beating of his father’s heart and hears his reassuring voice. The big crowded airport is still noisy and loud, but he is not alone any more. His father is holding him and he feels so secure, so safe! Hear Abba’s voice today as He says to you: “I am with you My precious child. You slipped away from me for a moment, as you focused on the turbulence around you. But I am with you here. I hold you close, I hold you high above the storm around you. I cover you, I shield you from the wind and the rain. Know that there is nothing that can hurt you again. Just stay within My presence and you will never be afraid.”
Psalm 91 begins with the words “He (or she!) who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty”). All the powerful promises of protection and safety are for anyone living in the presence of the “Most High”. He is our refuge and our strength, and our ever present Help in times of need (and other times!). All Christians claim the words of Psalm 91, but not all have chosen to dwell in His secret, sacred presence. There is a high and heavenly place from which we are ruling and reigning with Christ. It is the place of our abode, within the shelter of the Father’s presence. It is the highest possible place! So long as we are (like the little toddler) trusting our Father, staying in the higher place and dwelling in His presence, there is nothing that can hurt us, and no weapon formed against us that can prosper. No plague can come near our dwelling when our “dwelling” is in Him, hallelujah! Maybe this year has started off with some challenges, where you felt that your safety, sanity, health, finances or peace were under threat. We need the to live in the powerful promises of Psalm 91, but how?
1) Choose the highest possible place. Psalm 91:9 says “because you have made the Lord your dwelling place.” God the Holy Spirit may woo our hearts and draw us deeper into that “secret” place, but we have to choose to go there. We have to want to seek Him and live in His presence. He does not forcibly draw us nearer. He always responds to our hunger and our desire to know Him closer and deeper, and when we choose that better part, (as Mary did when Martha was working hard) and seek Jesus and His Kingdom, we begin to access all the super-abundance of love and power that His presence brings. There will be no lack of anything!
2) Choose Him as your dwelling place. Choose also to stay in that place, through every day and every night, connected to Him, literally “dwelling” in His presence. This is not easy while living and working in the world, but it is possible. It requires a conscious decision to stay connected to Jesus and the Father through the Holy Spirit, to feed on the Word, and to let heaven influence and invade everything you do. It means acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus in the different aspects of our daily lives. It means making a choice to allow the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives, and to live and walk in His peace. Of course we may fall out of that cocoon multiple times a day, but we can quickly climb back up, regaining our connection, reaffirming the Lordship of Jesus over us. I always reconnect through worship and by praying in tongues. When it becomes a way of life to practice His presence, there truly is no other way!
3) Make the Lord your refuge, the one you turn to always. Let Jesus be your refuge, the one you run to when you need help or strength, fellowship or wisdom. Acknowledge and confess Him as your Protector, Defender and Guide. Call on His name, before you call on any other. Many children of God turn to Him in prayer only when they have tried other avenues and all else fails! We may turn to friends or prophets for advise and counsel, or turn to the internet when we need wisdom. When faced with a difficulty, we may run first to those who represent the law, when the Lord has promised to be our help and our shield, and receives us with open arms whenever we turn to Him.
God promises us in Psalm 91 that no evil shall befall us, and no plague shall come near our dwelling. While these promises are powerful and they are often prayed over homes, I believe that God is calling us through these words to live our lives in Him. He is our Mighty, powerful, eternal dwelling place! He is beckoning us higher, saying “Come up and see! Make Me your dwelling place, come live in My glory. If you live in My presence, you will walk in your destiny. Fear not, for I cover you, and you have been set apart for Me.” Hallelujah!
This year is going to be powerfully filled with the presence of God, as you seek Him deeper, and come up higher. God has so much more for you than you have ever known! Today I declare God’s blessing and protection over your going out and your coming in. Choose Him as your highest priority, and live your life in HIM, the Highest Place
