Bible Readings: Luke 10: 38-42, Exodus 33:10-17, Psalm 84:1-12
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to dwell?
Mary yearned for His presence with every fibre of her being.
She seized every chance to sit close and soak in His wisdom.
She recognised the perfect moments to draw near and rest at His feet.
She trusted that the Master would never send her away.
Jesus will never say
No place for you…
No place for your kind…
No invitation for you…
Go away
If you have ever heard those words, take heart—Jesus is nothing like that.
He longs for us to have a relationship with Him.
Please, do not refuse Him. Do not decline the invitation as those men did in Matthew 22:8.
When the master said to the servants, “Go to the street; go get everyone you find” (Matthew 22:9).
There were no specifics.
The party was open to all of us.
There is a place set just for you!
You are welcome to dwell in His Presence.
No matter how heavy your burdens may be.
Space exists for those who have tasted rejection.
A place exists for everyone the world calls undesirable.
If you have ever felt overlooked, the Lord invites you to come close.
Everything has been lovingly prepared for you.
Your name is already written on the Lord’s guest list.
The question remains: will you accept His invitation?
One lady wrote to me, and all I could hear in her message was,
“What would the Lord do with someone like me?
How can He accept me?
I am all messed up and good for nothing”.
Perhaps, like her, you have wrestled with these doubts at some point in your life.
Maybe you have asked…
‘Does the Lord have a place for someone like me?’
Still, He calls out, come and make your home in My Presence.
If He has a place for Rahab, He has a space for you.
If He can give the Samaritan woman a place, He will do the same for you.
The same goes for Hannah, Ruth, Tamar, Elisabeth, Martha, Mary, and Deborah…all of those unique women found a place in His Kingdom.
Amid life’s storms, each of them discovered God right there in the trenches. He met them with an invitation to dwell, no matter their challenges, ages, or seasons.
It is not about drifting in and out of His presence whenever we please.
Dwelling is grasping, fixating and rooting in where the Lord is
I long to be found, time and again, in His presence.
I want to be lost in the beauty of His awesome glory
My deepest longing is to be drenched in His presence.
I hope your heart echoes the same desire.
Every time we fall, we want a hideaway from God’s presence.
Sin separates us from His presence.
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2
God’s presence makes the difference.
When Moses pleaded for God’s presence, he grasped its mystery. Only His presence assures us we reach our destination; without it, we are lost.
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. Exodus 33:13-15
It is a precious invitation to dwell unmoved in God’s presence.
Journal Activity
1. There are blessings in dwelling in His presence. Read and write out these scriptures in your journal: Psalm 27:4, Psalm 16:11 and Psalm 84:7
2. Decide to live a life to keep His presence there with you.
It is difficult to find Him when we are wandering in this empty world. In places of wickedness, nothing delights the Lord (Psalm 84:10).
We find peace, strength, joy, goodness, security and everything we will ever need in God’s presence.
Did you catch that?
We need to learn to quiet our hearts and truly be in His presence.
We all have a choice in these things; a choice to dwell or to wander off.
I implore you to choose to seek and maintain God’s presence over your life.
The same Mary whose sister complained she wasn’t in the “business of busyness”.
The same Mary who believed the Lord that He could raise Lazarus.
Mary grasped the depth of God’s love for her.
She was an ardent believer and follower of Jesus Christ.
She stopped, sat still, listened and soaked herself in the Word Jesus spoke. His Words were not mere words. Her moments in His presence were not futile.
Her stillness brought her heart to where it ought to be.
Mary chose to dwell.
And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. Luke 10:39
Mary chose the one thing that mattered most to her destiny,
the one thing that will set you apart from your contemporaries.
The one thing that will make God notice you–> Dwelling
Yes, Notice!
Martha flip-flopped about preparing meals and serving at the table.
She wondered why Mary was comfortable at His feet rather than serving at the table.
Maybe you have Martha’s heart; you need to be sensitive to know when to withdraw and retreat.
It is good to have Martha’s heart, but better to have Mary’s wisdom.
We need to know what the Lord requires of us.
While Martha was up and about, Jesus appreciated it, but He desired her presence more than her service.
Jesus desires us more than our service and our gifts in the Kingdom.
Ponder on this:
The Lord longs for us to know Him. How can we sense His heartbeat if we do not spend time in His presence?
Prayer
Lord, I lay at your feet, and my heart desires solely to dwell in your presence. Wrap me in the stillness of your presence and open my heart to receive the word you have for me. Pour down your blessings upon me as I continue daily in your presence. Hold me tightly and never let me go, in Jesus name.
By His Grace,
Ifeoma Samuel.
If this article blessed your heart, then “THE INVITATIONS” is for you.
Every day we are awake to beautiful invitations nudging us to draw nearer, lean closer and glean more. We see them even in our least favourite places. Jesus sweetly pours out grace and offers us INVITATIONS.
