A Dwelling Place (Pt. 1)

"I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob." Psalm 132:4-5

All of us have had that experience of something being "not right" within us. Work and our daily tasks seem impossible to do because we are unsettled and can't focus. We usually deal with this feeling in one of two ways: we press pass the feeling through busyness until the state is forgotten, or we take time before God to find out what it is that's troubling our soul. 

Many of you probably know that the Old Testament is rich is allegory with the spiritual truths of the New Testament. One prominent symbol or "type" in the Old Testament is the ark of the covenant. During the period of which King David was speaking in the Psalm above, the nation of Israel was in a state of unrest. King Saul had proven himself unworthy for the throne, and the nation sort of "informally" followed David, as he led them in battle. But Israel didn't yet have an "official" kingdom set up . Only when the ark came to its rightful place - the temple in Jerusalem - could God's kingdom be set up on earth. David knew this, and wouldn't rest until it was so.

God has, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, decided to set up His holy temple in the human heart today.  For anyone familiar with the lengths to which the ark of the covenant had to be carefully treated, this should strike fear and awe (as well as joy) in our hearts. With what carelessness we deal with God's presence! Our number one priority should be to make sure our temple is prepared and "in it's right place" for the "ark of the covenant" (i.e., the Holy Spirit) to occupy it.

We prepare ourselves for God's presence and assure that we are "right with God" by living a "lifestyle of repentance". That is, we are continually turning from sin and to God in our daily lives. Even the altar of God's presence was cleansed with blood (for the sins of the people). Once we have done this (i.e., believe the blood of Christ has cleansed our sins), we may enter the "Holy of Holies", and experience communion with God. (See Hebrews Ch. 9) It really is as simple as that.

Let us be clear, however, that it is not "feelings" we go by to determine whether God is "with us" or not , for they are deceitful (see Jeremiah 17:9). It is by the communion of our spirit with God's Spirit that we know we are "right" with God as well as "standing upon" what His Holy Word says, when our thoughts and feelings are in contradiction. . Thus not every time we are "feeling bad" are we "out of sorts" with God. We need, therefore, to distinguish between natural and spiritual troubles*.  This is the deeper life of walking with God, and it is a lifelong process.

David knew the only way the nation of Israel could be "right" was if God was in His rightful place in their lives. Let us prepare our temples to let God have full reign in our lives, so His kingdom come and will be done here on earth. 

*  It is my experience that people in general are quick to assign "natural" causes ("tired", "something they ate", e.g.) to their problems, and are simply wanting a quick fix.