Building Our Dwelling in God

I have had a dream since I was young of building my own home.  I have read through house plan magazines like some people read “People” or “Newsweek”.  Even now, on my phone’s internet browser, I have six or seven house plans saved.  It is a dream that probably won’t ever become a reality, but it is one I still enjoy thinking about.  Where we live is important.  We all have certain features we want in a house and certain ways of decorating we prefer.  We spend countless hours maintaining, remodeling, and improving the place we call home.  We are proud of our homes.  We pay dearly to own them.  They hold our memories and our promises of the future.  They are a big deal.

There is an eternal dwelling place that we need to be living in here on earth.

What hit me today as I read Psalm 91 was the eternal importance of another home.  I am not talking about heaven here, although that is important and is certainly the ultimate blessing for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and submitted to Him.  There is an eternal dwelling place that we need to be living in here on earth.  Psalm 91:9-10 says, “If you say, ‘The LORD is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” (NIV)  The promises at the end of this verse are amazing, for sure.  But what got my attention was the idea of making God my dwelling place.  What does that even look like?  I have heard of dwelling with Him and dwelling in His house, but dwelling in Him?  That was an entirely new idea.

“Live in Me, make your home in Me just as I do in you.” John 15:4a

It sent me on a journey to see what that means.  One of the first verses I found was John 15:4:  “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (ESV)  Notice this verse talks about abiding IN, not abiding WITH.  The Hebrew word for “abide” here means to stay, abide, remain, or live.  Other meanings include to continue, endure, last, and even wait.  I really like the wording of The Message Bible here:  “Live in Me, make your home in Me just as I do in you.”  There is an understanding of permanence here – of a home for a lifetime.  This is not a “move on to a new house every few years” type of living arrangement.  This is like decades of dwelling on the family land in the family home.  More than that even – this is eternal.

Dwelling is a two-way street.

As Christians, we talk a lot about the indwelling of God’s Spirit.  It is the immediate gift of God upon profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide after He was gone.  He is still sending the Spirit to believers today.  When we submit our hearts to Jesus, the “For Sale” sign on our hearts goes down and the Spirit takes up permanent residence there.  It is the greatest blessing we will ever experience in our lives.  So as Christians we talk about it.  What convicted me in Psalm 91 was that the dwelling is a two-way street.  Isn’t it interesting that we don’t talk about our dwelling in God nearly as much as we talk about Him dwelling in us?  If it is a two-way street, we need to talk more about the other side of this housing arrangement.  We need to talk about how we dwell in God.

Those who dwell in the Lord will have protection.

What does it mean to dwell in God?  Psalm 15 gives us a pretty good description.  Verse 1 says: “LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?  Who may live on your holy mountain?”  The rest of the psalm describes who is allowed to dwell in God.  We read words like blameless, righteous, truthful, not gossiping or hurting others, oath keepers, fearers of God, charitable, despisers of evil.  The Psalm ends in verse 6 with, “Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”  That is the same promise that I had read in Psalm 91 – those who dwell in the Lord will have protection.

How am I ever supposed to be good enough to qualify to live in God?

Just reading that list of “requirements” makes me exhausted.  I am human.  I cannot do all of those things.  I mess up.  How am I ever supposed to be good enough to qualify to live in God?  But that is exactly the point.  I can’t – not on my own.  I need God’s Spirit to help me be that person.  That is the beauty of the two-way street.  I commit to wanting to be that person.  I admit I can’t do it on my own.  I offer my life to Jesus, who already paid the price for every way I mess up.  He sends the Spirit to dwell in me, and the Spirit guides and molds me into the person that God wants to be His home.

I have to put in the time and effort to build my relationship with God.

My job in this is the commitment.  My job is to put some time and effort into my relationship with God.  After all, I am moving in with Him.  I need to give Him the same priority and importance that I would give my closest, dearest family member.  If I was dwelling in a home with someone with whom I never talked, spent time with, served, or expressed love to, I would have a pretty unhappy and unfulfilling home life.  Certainly, dwelling in and with God is no different.  I have to put in the time and effort to build my relationship with God.  It is what He wants for me.  He wants to have me draw ever closer to Him so that He can bless and protect and defend me in the ways He talks about all through the Psalms and all through the Bible.

When the Spirit moves in, He wants that “For Sale” sign on my heart to disappear. 

It hit me that it all starts with the “For Sale” sign.  When the Spirit moves in, He wants that “For Sale” sign on my heart to disappear.  He wants my heart to belong to Him first and foremost.  My problem is that I keep trying to put it back out in the yard.  How many things compete for my heart every day?  For so many years I sold my heart too easily to anyone who showed me some affection and acceptance because I was afraid of being rejected and alone.  If someone was willing to care for me, they became my focus more so even than God.  They became my false idol.  It is not wrong to desire connection and relationship.  It is wrong to move out God’s Spirit to a place of unimportance because of it.  We all have our idols that we move in to the place in our hearts that God’s Spirit belongs.  Maybe it is material items or financial gain.  Maybe it is public praise and power.  Maybe it is having the perfect house or friend circle.  Maybe it is addiction.  Whatever it is, it represents us putting a “For Sale” sign out again.  How can we dwell in God if we are constantly asking God to move to the basement in the home of our hearts?

How much deeper and more beautiful would my relationship with God be if He got as much attention as my physical property?

That got me thinking about how much time and effort I put into my material home.  I have been in a process of remodeling it for 4 years now.  I put so much time and planning into deciding on colors, textures, appliances, and materials.  I have put in some back-breaking labor and enlisted friends to help when the job was too big for me alone.  I have a large yard that is in constant need of care all summer long.  I read books on gardening, watch YouTube videos on home repair, and shop for hours for just the right finishing touches.  What if I did that with God?  How much deeper and more beautiful would my relationship with Him be if He got as much attention as my physical property?  Ouch!

I need to start spending more time building the home that I have in God. 

I think it is about time that I start spending more time building the home that I have in God.  After all, it is where I will live for all eternity, long after my physical home has turned to dust.  I think it is time that I spend more time reading His Word and less time pouring over house plans.  It is time that I spend more time focusing on the work of spreading His love and Gospel to others and less time on making my house and yard perfect.  It is time I start spending more time planning my future in His will and less time planning my next remodeling design.  All that I have materially is a blessing from Him.  It is good and it is necessary.  But it should never replace Him in my heart, my mind, or my daily schedule.

Let’s commit to doing a home restoration in our hearts.

I know we all struggle with it.  I know that like me, you long to dwell more deeply in God.  Let’s make a commitment today to build that relationship.  Let’s commit to doing a home restoration in our hearts, making more room for God and less room for the clutter we have accumulated there.  Let’s build a mansion in God that puts our earthly home to shame.  In return, we get the promises.  He says He will be our shelter and our refuge.  He will be our safe place and our firm foundation.  In the world, there will be storms that rage around us and disasters that threaten us, but God will be the immovable wall that will still be standing after the storm has passed.  And who doesn’t want a home that is built like that?

I hope today’s message touched your heart, increased your understanding, and encouraged you.  Praying the peace and comfort of Christ Jesus on your life.