DWELLING PLACES

Isaiah 32:18  "My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places...."

When I think about secure dwellings, I normally would think of a house that is build well, probably one built 20 years or so ago. They were built so well back then.  The home we had in Louisiana had attic rafters made out of 2x6's.  So sturdy, built to last.   But I have since learned what secure dwellings truly are.. 

So many things can change, from one day to the next.  You may have what you call security one day and circumstances can change it totally the next.  One day you are married, the next day you are a widow.  That place of security, where you felt safe, is gone.  And you begin to see that it was all like sand, so easily moved by one wind or another. 

I have learned, thank You, Lord; I have learned.  Real security lies in my Lord God.  I have found that in Him is the place I can dwell in perfect peace.  I can have what always seemed to elude me before, that security that will never change, that I never have to fear will disappear from me.  My true dwelling is in the Lord.  It is not a place made of earthly materials, it is a place of spirit, in the heart and the soul.  When you can abide in a spiritual dwelling, it is made of a foundation that cannot be moved.  Dwelling in my Lord has shown me that no matter what happens, my habitation does not change in Him.  I am secure, I am at peace in that quiet resting place in Him.

Days sometimes bring such challenges, such trials; work is just that, it is work.  I am subject to the daily routines that are not always of my choosing, but I get to come home to that sweet dwelling place that I know will be the same as it was in the morning when I left to go to work.  In fact, any time I need I can return to the dwelling place of the Lord by just letting myself shut out the world and know that I am in that quiet place with my God.  You might say that I have no idea of what you are going through, that I could not possibly know why you are so stressed.  But I tell you, I do know.  I was once in that house of horrors as you are now.  Horrors because the enemy would not stop the layers of fear and anxiety he placed on me.  But just as the Lord brought me out of that place, He can also bring you out but you have to ask Him, and then you have to let Him take control so He can give you the dwelling place of peace, of quiet rest, of His habitation.  Surrendering to the Lord can begin your journey to the security of His rest, of His dwelling place.

I thank You, Lord, that I have You to come to whenever I desire.  I thank You that You are always waiting for me when I walk in the door at night.  I never come home to what most folks would consider an empty house as You are always here, waiting for me, to come home to the dwelling place, the place of peace and quiet rest that You have made for me, in You.

12-30-11