Walls or No Walls?

We all chose a place to live. Some might have chosen to dwell in large homes in big cities, or in smaller homes in the suburbs, while others chose a remote location with lots of land around them. Where we 'dwell' indicates a choice of where we want to live. Does our 'dwelling' provide us with protection? Most of the time, it does - from cold or heat, rain or wind. There are times when we need a 'solace' - a place to go where we feel safe, secure, and able to find rest. The 'relief' we find within the walls of our homes is something akin to the 'relief' we find when we choose to dwell in the shelter of God Almighty. Not only do we find 'relief' from the things that bring us discomfort, but we also find a place to share our most 'intimate' of thoughts, dreadful fears, and deepest of needs. To 'dwell', one must make a choice - to live 'within' those 'walls of safety and protection'.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (Psalm 91:1-2)

Does every person receive God's protection? This is a hard question, but if we examine scripture closely, we will see that the decision to 'dwell' in the presence of God Almighty is the only way to enjoy his protection. We can choose to dwell 'in him' or we can decide we like the dwelling of the world just a bit better. The choice will always be ours - God never forces us into this dwelling place. We each make a choice where we will 'live' in a physical sense, but we also make a choice where we will live in a 'spiritual' sense. When we choose to dwell in the Kingdom of God, we choose to submit to his authority and live by his guidance. Some will say the 'rules of the house' are too cumbersome or restrictive when choosing to live in God's dwelling, but to choose to live by the 'rules of the world' is a much more 'restrictive' option. We may not see the 'restrictiveness' of Satan's rule, but the contrast between the two 'dwellings' is significant.

In God's dwelling, we find peace and comfort. In Satan's, we find unrest spurred on by the pride that seeks to outpace the person next to you and a definite lack of true, lasting joy or peace. In God's dwelling, we find we never walk alone, while Satan makes no such assurances. In God's dwelling, we walk with companions who have our best in mind, while in the world we have much competition. We might think living in this world is really awesome until we realize we are doing it in our own power, on our own merits, and without anyone really helping us to succeed. The way might seem easier, but choosing to live in obedience to God brings us much more than this world will ever offer. Satan's world offers no walls of protection - but God's dwelling is impenetrable!

God's dwelling is filled with love, but we won't feel 'comfortable' with that love until we have made a choice to fully 'dwell' within his protection. We can 'visit' him on occasion, but that isn't the same as making his presence our dwelling place. I go to hotels on occasion, but as nice as the stay might have been, those are not my dwelling places. I have a home I return to at the end of the visit. We might choose to live with God some of the time and then scurry off into the world on others, but until we make a heartfelt choice to dwell in the presence of the Almighty, we will never truly know the goodness of choosing to live in obedience to him. One thing we need to know about God's 'dwelling' is that is not a 'fixer-upper' dwelling. We might get 'fixed up' there, but his dwelling is perfect! Living in his dwelling is a lifestyle of choice - we actively choose to live within the 'confines' of obedience instead of choosing to live 'without walls'. Just sayin!

Why consider the infrastructure?

There are times when we need to look at where it is we are standing and be sure the ground underneath us is really going to stand up to the pressure.  Truth be told, most of us don't give a second thought to where we are standing until we begin to experience our foothold giving out underneath us!  The moment we begin to sense things "giving way", we begin to look around for something we can reach out to in order to "stabilize" ourselves.  You know it is true - don't try denying it!  We kind of forget about the importance of our "footing" until we find it isn't as predictable or reliable as we counted on when we took steps in that direction.

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]. 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! (Psalm 91:1-2 AMPC)

To a builder, the footing of a structure is considered the "infrastructure" of that building. It is what gives support to all which is built upon it - without the infrastructure, there is no stability to the structure.  This principle holds true in almost all design and organized "system" there is - including the human body, airplane flight, or sailing a ship.  The last two examples don't seem like they have much of a "footing", because water and air are not very "stable".  The truth is that what makes up the "infrastructure" of the plane's wings, flaps, engine thrust, etc., all help to give the plane the ability to fly though the air it soars through is without "stable structure".  The "infrastructure" of the biggest ship is what gives it the ability to sail upon the waters of the deepest seas, not the water it sails upon.

Structure is defined by the footing - the foundation.  The right foundation gives a reliable structure to whatever is built upon it.  The structure upon which we build is none other than truth and justice - Christ himself.  He is all-truth - therefore anything in opposition to truth cannot be built into our lives if the foundation of truth is well-established.  He is perfect justice - therefore life's injustices cannot gain a foothold into our lives if this foundation of justice is the underlying principle of how we conduct our affairs in life.  I chose the Amplified Bible's translation of our passage today because I think it helps to define our "footing" a little clearer.

If we "dwell" in the secret place of the Most High, we shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow his presence creates.  Let's take this apart a little.  To dwell means we continue in that place - we determine to allow his presence to be the footing upon which all truth is built into our lives.  He who "dwells" actually learns to reside - to not move, but to remain steadily fixed to the location he has been placed.  The foundation of one's life is important because it is what gives us the power to withstand any and all attack.  I have a crack in my home's foundation which causes little cracks to develop in the walls on occasion.  As settling occurs, those pesky cracks trail their way up the wall by one door and window.  It looks as though the entire structure of the house is "under pressure" because of that small crack in the foundation.  It is!

It doesn't take much to undermine the structure of something - a small crack can impact the entire stability of the whole house's structure.  In truth, the structure upon which we build our lives is probably more important!  To not be affected by the "fissures" of bad character which would seek to do us harm and cause us to crumble under life's pressures, we need the most reliable of foundations upon which we not only build, but lean upon when pressures come our way.  To find a reliable place in which to dwell comes by allowing a strong and mighty foundation to be built into our lives which will act as the infrastructure of our lives. Just sayin!