where do you live?

I was listening to Joyce Meyer Friday afternoon, and she mentioned Psalm 91 several times in teaching about victory over the enemy. When I read this psalm, it seemed like a natural follow-up to Friday morning’s post on prayer and hurry. It begins

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

The ESV and other modern translations use the word “shelter” here, but older versions use “secret place” or “hiding place,” which I like better. Colossians 3:3 tells us that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” Perhaps I don’t understand the connotations of shelter to the original readers of this psalm, but it sounds temporary to me, less than stable. Hidden and secret better fit with the promise of total protection that we find in the rest of this psalm. Regardless, the idea is clear: when we are in close relationship with God–living with Him, if you will–we have protection, and He becomes our refuge and fortress. Verses 9 and 10 reinforce this truth:

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place–
the Most High, who is my refuge–
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

When I first read this psalm, I was focused on the blessings it lists; they are considerable, and I encourage you to read and meditate on them. But as I read the psalm again and again, here’s what caught my attention: dwell, shelter, abide, refuge, fortress, dwelling place, tent. All of these words have to do with a place, with where we live.

We say,

• “She lives in constant pain.”
• “He lives in a fantasy land.”
• “She lives in fear.”
• “They live in poverty.*

and we mean it metaphorically. But I would suggest that these images point to a spiritual reality. Some of us really do live in fear; we have made fear and worry and anxiety our home. It contains us, and everything we experience comes to us through that home or filter.

Jesus tells us we can’t serve two masters; likewise, we can’t live in two places. Am I abiding in God, hidden in Him, or am I abiding in something else? Look at verse 9 again: “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place”; made suggests a choice on our part. As I start this day, as I start this week, it’s worth asking myself, “Where do I live? Have I made the Lord my dwelling place?”

If the answer is “no,” then I need to get out of the house I’m in and ask God to take me into His secret place.

So, where do you live?

Tagged as: abide, dwell, God, Psalms, secret-place