Dwells & Abides
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
— Psalm 91:1–2
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5
ONENESS WITH GOD
God desires a deep and meaningful relationship with us. This is why Scripture speaks about dwelling and abiding.
To dwell is to remain, to stay, to make your home. To abide is to continue, remain and stay connected.
Jesus uses the picture of a vine and its branches. The branch is connected to the vine and receives everything it needs from the vine.
Have you ever seen a branch disconnected from a tree that continues to live? Once separated, it begins to die.
This gives us a beautiful picture of our relationship with Christ. He doesn’t simply want us to visit His presence occasionally; He calls us to abide in Him.
OVER A DECADE AGO
Over a decade ago, the Lord put it in my heart to have at least three check-in points with Him every day.
Morning.
Afternoon.
Night.
I felt strongly that I should never miss one.
And then, throughout the day, there would be those smaller, quiet micro check-ins with the Lord, moments of prayer, listening, thanking Him, asking for wisdom and simply acknowledging His presence.
For me, lunchtime would often become a time of prayer.
This was teaching me something important: abiding is not just something we do at one particular time of day. It becomes a way of life.
BUILD GODLY HABITS
Sundays can be easy. We come together as the church. We worship, pray, praise, hear the Word, share testimonies and fellowship together.
But what happens when we leave the building?
It is in the private place that we develop our own concrete foundations of abiding with God.
We need the Word every day.
We need the Holy Spirit every day. We need prayer every day.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
— John 15:9–10
STAY CLOSE TO GOD
Beloved, stay close to God, and He will stay close to you
Don’t allow your relationship with Him to become something that only happens on Sundays. Carry the secret place with you wherever you go.
You are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. God desires to dwell with you and for you to continually dwell in Him.
Bless the Lord. May
He open your heart even more in this season since He is our every day refreshing, refuge and fortress.
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
— Psalm 91.14