“Dwell in my presence”Part 2

Another insight on the word "dwell" today. Reflecting on the definition of the Hebrew word "shakan" for dwell I read the word permanently stay. This reminds me of a story Todd, my husband, told me about when he was only four. One day while he was playing in front of their house a slightly older neighbor boy came up to him and told him..."Hey come on let's go!" My husband went along with the boy and both of them headed to a small shopping center. While at the shopping complex he was completely unaware of how long he had been far away from home, neither did he realize that it was getting late, and his parents were in a state of panic and were frantically looking for him. Fortunately the older kid he followed knew the way back. Needless to say Todd got the scolding he knew he deserved. By then he realized it was wrong for him to stray away from home.

In life God has given us His word as a manual for our behavior. But sometimes the lures of the world distract us and before we know it we find ourselves in situations and places where we were not supposed to be in the first place if we only chose to "stay". First John 2:15-17 comes to mind. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. "For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

"The man who does the will of God lives forever". Wow! This is like God telling me today. "Elsie, it is in "staying" in my word that you shall live. It is how I desire for you to live your life. Let not the things of this world nor the wants of things in this world distract you. Follow me and serve me. Listen to my voice alone. Then life will be your lot forever.









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