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!

Mounting a good defense begins here

I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet. That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic. (Psalm 27:4-5)

It is not always a certainty that we find 'comfort' in the place where we dwell. Sometimes our place of dwelling is far from 'comfortable' because of who else dwells there, or the events that transpire within that dwelling. A dwelling is meant to be more than a place of 'living' - it is a space for each of us to decompress, replenish ourselves, and prepare for whatever comes next in our lives. If our 'physical dwelling' is far from perfect, we can be assured of one thing - our 'spiritual dwelling' is one place we can find all these things.

The only quiet, secure place in a crazy, mixed up world is at the feet of Jesus. It is indeed the place where we can decompress because he allows us to express exactly what we are feeling, what it is that is weighing us down, and whatever it is we have encountered in our day that we just need to let go of for a while. It isn't a physical place, but the beauty of this place is that it can be found anywhere and at any time! It is indeed a 'secure' place - removed from everything else that causes us to feel unprotected, unguarded, and not defended. 

Damage awaits us in other dwelling places - defenses are hard to maintain on our own. We are not immune unless something creates that immunity within us. Isn't that the purpose of vaccines - they introduce enough of a 'stimulant' to cause our immune system to mount a defense and be prepared to ward off the disease should we encounter it ever again. We are not immune to the enemy's attacks against us if we are trying to maintain our defenses on our own - we haven't 'mounted our defenses' enough to ward off the assault. We need the defenses God provides and those are only found as we come into the place of his dwelling. Just sayin!

Tract or Custom Home?

So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. (2 Peter 1:5-8 MSG)

I have often referred to this daily and continual work of "growing up" in Jesus, but how many of us actually consider "growing up" work? For some, it is the ultimate goal in life - but that is probably when you are ten! For those of us "grown up" already, we long for the 'good old days' when life was simpler and our main issue for the day consisted of if a friend would like our outfit! Growing up physically is one thing - growing up in Jesus is quite another! One physical food, rest, and mental investment. The other requires spiritual food, trustful and expectant rest, and a mental grasp on things you might have otherwise been totally blind to! We all realize it is possible to 'grow up', but never really 'mature'. The idea of growing up involves more than growing older - there is supposed to be a physical, mental, and emotional transformation that occurs as we do!

"Basic faith" is to be 'built upon' - it is a foundation only - nothing erected on a foundation is a waste of a good foundation! Recently I viewed a program featuring some techniques on building 'off the grid' in some of the more remote regions of the nation. The idea is that the home owners will build a home that is kind of self-sustaining and live a pretty simple lifestyle, doing without some of the things some 'city dwellers' may have come to expect as 'normal' living. Electricity might be garnered from solar panels, water from springs, and furnishings from those things you can make from what you clear from the land. It all starts with a good foundation 'suitable' for the space where the building will be erected. If it will be up in the trees, having solidly growing, healthy trees spaced perfectly apart is essential. If it will be on the ground of a sloping mountainside, carving out a safe place to build the structure and supporting it with sufficient bracing to keep it from sliding away in a rainstorm is critical!

Each home built represents something unique because it is both built for the environment in which it is to provide shelter within, and it is designed to suit the needs of those who will dwell inside that structure. Some are round, square, or oblong. The design is determined by the foundation. The design of what is "built-into" the structure of our lives begins with the foundation. If that foundation is Christ, then what is built upon that foundation is solid - regardless of how that 'dwelling' takes shape! Some of the buildings are erected in pretty harsh weather conditions - needing to withstand cold and freeze for many months of the year. Double walls may be created, allowing for extra insulation. Some of our lives are didn't exactly take form as 'beach homes', overlooking lapping waters, with swaying palms in the backdrop. Some of our lives are like the ones built to withstand the hard freeze of winter and still be a shelter that warms and welcomes!

Why are our lives all a little bit different? I think God never set out to build "tract homes" - he set out to build "custom dwellings" - places where his Son would be the foundation, but which revealed beautiful attributes of his character in unique ways within each of these 'earthly dwellings'! Just sayin!