Day 58 — Dwell
The idea that there is a house of God created for us to dwell with Him is an astounding reality.
Day 58 — Dwell
Psalms 23:6 - “And I will dwell...”
Something different takes place in the final part of Psalm 23. After David has spent the entire psalm telling us what the Shepherd does, he then says, “And I will dwell…”
That word dwell deserves our attention. The Hebrew word, yashav, means to remain, inhabit or settle down. It’s not talking about making a brief visit. It is staying.
Think about this: We know how to visit with God. We pray when we’re in trouble, open the Bible when we need direction and go to church on Sunday.
But David says something deeper: “I will dwell.”
From beginning to end, the Bible tells the story of God desiring to dwell with His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. He had a tabernacle and a temple built so that He could dwell with His people. The prophets constantly preached about God’s desire to dwell in their midst.
Then John wrote: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The word John uses literally carries the idea of “setting up a tent” among us.
God came near.
And Jesus took it even further. He said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4), He was telling us that God doesn’t simply want to be near us. Through Christ, He makes His dwelling with us.
Why?
Psalm 8 asks this thoughtful question: “What is man that You take thought of him?” In other words, why would the God who created the heavens desire fellowship with people like us?
We may never fully comprehend the answer. But He does.
God created us for fellowship with Himself. Sin disrupted that but God’s desire didn’t change. The entire story of redemption is God making a way for His people to dwell with Him again. But the idea that there is a house of God created for us to dwell with Him is an astounding reality.
That gives David’s words a depth we can easily miss. He’s not saying, “I will come to You when life falls apart.”
He says, “I will dwell.”
David is saying: I will remain … settle down … make my home where my Shepherd is.
That’s what abiding in Christ looks like. We don’t just turn to Him when we need something. We learn to talk with Him, listen, trust, obey and walk with Him through the ordinary hours of our day.
The Christian life isn’t about occasionally getting close to God. It is learning to live close to Him.
