Making God your dwelling place

For in him we live and move and exist. – Acts 17:28, NLT

God wants to be your dwelling place,” says Max Lucado, continuing, “He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage. Don’t consider using God as a vacation cabin or an eventual retirement home… He wants to be the one in whom ‘we live and move and have our being’” (see Acts 17:28).

Many people, perhaps you as well, think of God as being very remote – way out there somewhere beyond the constellations but not “an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The words of the psalmist follow his declaration that “God is our refuge and strength.”

Both testaments of the Bible make it very clear that what He desires of you is to have a relationship with Him, restoring the one that was broken when Adam and Eve put their backs to God and decided to try to make it on their own. Ever since then, generations after generations have struggled in striving to find sufficiency that can never be attained apart from a relationship with His Son, the intermediary, the One who was sent from God to show us how to get back to the Father’s home.

Dwelling in God demands interaction, communication, time and trust. This means you need to get to know Him and discover the truth of His word, the Bible. You need interaction that is known as prayer, telling Him what’s happening in your life, then listening quietly to the voice of His Holy Spirit. You need to keep a journal of how God has answered your prayers and met you in the time of need.

And, yes, one more thing. Find a church where you can have fellowship with others. Join a small group meeting with friends every week. Share your heart and yes, dwell in God.

Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.