A few years ago a friend of mine went through a very trying time for both his ministry and personal life. What he went through was so rough that it shook his faith to the core. I asked him just what it was that got him through those tough times and he said he “…lived every day in Psalm 91.” When I asked him what he meant by “lived” he told me:
“I read it every morning and asked God to make it real to me. I thought on it throughout each day and the Holy Spirit would bring a part of it to my mind that would show me how to respond to what was happening to me at that moment. Personalizing verses, like verses 9 & 10, I would pray them out like this: 'Because I have made You (Heavenly Father) my place to live and take refuge in, You shall see that no evil comes upon me or any disease come into my home.'”
My friend also told me he went to sleep at night with peace knowing that God was making Psalm 91 a reality in his life, to be applied to each day’s struggles. He truly lived in Psalm 91.
Jesus said in John 15:4, “Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me." When we look up the word ‘abide’ we find it means to live and make a permanent home. Observe a couple that have been married for a long time. They have made a permanent home with each other for so long and have come to know each other so well they can finish each others sentences and confidently speak for the other about their likes and dislikes. This is the kind of abiding Jesus longs to have with us.
He wants us to read His Word every morning, think on it throughout the day, allow His Holy Spirit to show us how to respond to what happens to us every moment, and make His Word a personal prayer. "If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.” (John 14:23b)
He is waiting to abide, truly live, with you. Why not join Him?
