dwell

Opening Prayer: Lord, you are my refuge and my fortress, you are the God in whom I trust.  Help me to dwell in the shelter of you, that I might find rest in your shadow, O Lord Almighty.  Amen.

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2

Journal: How good are you at dwelling?  How does dwelling in God allow your soul to rest?  How will you practice that today?

Reflection: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)  Only he who dwells in God will be able to find rest in God.  Thus, if we are not finding rest, we are probably not dwelling in him. It is a hard thing to do, this dwelling, especially since it is about not doing at all, but being.  How in the world do we train ourselves to be?

     The Hebrew word for dwell is yashab, which literally means to sit down.  It is also translated to remain, to abide, and to stay.  All of which involve stopping.  All of which point to a lack of movement.  Thus, we learn how to dwell in God by sitting still.  We learn to dwell in God by staying right where we are, by remaining in one place.  And once we are finally able to dwell in God at one place, we might actually be able to dwell in him while we are on the move as well.  At least that is the hope.  For God wants us dwelling in him at all times.  Our feet may be in motion, but our hearts are still and calm.  That’s what it means to dwell in God.  

     The problem is that if we never stop and sit still, and learn the art of dwelling in silence and solitude, we will likely never be able to dwell in him in our everyday lives.  Which means we never will be able to find rest.  We will always be striving, always be moving, always be trying, always be doing.  And that is not restful at all, but exhausting.

     So let us pray the words of this ancient prayer over and over again.  Maybe at some point they will begin to take root in our hearts.  Maybe at some point our feet—and our souls—will stop.  And maybe, just maybe, we eventually might even be able to find our rest in Him.  A man can dream, right?

Prayer

Closing Prayer: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)