Are You in His Rest? That’s right. Do you dwell in the secret place of the Most High?
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:4-5
King David’s greatest desire was to live in God’s presence every day of his life. Sadly, this isn’t the greatest desire of many who claim to be believers. I honestly sit back and scratch my head in bewilderment of that. I just cannot understand how anyone can taste the Lord and not be changed. But then again, that’s the opinion of someone who’s totally sold out for the king. I’m born-again. I’m on fire for Jesus! But it always wasn’t like that…
Sometimes pain is the only way to learn. Sometimes we have to be taken to the end of ourselves so we can tune into God. There comes a time we need to be slowed down, given a chance to evaluate life and get a clear perspective of the importance we assign to things. We must listen to the message God is trying to get across to us, and that message is always a message of life or death. The good news is that we don’t have to go through life not knowing which way to turn. I hope I’m making sense, because this is coming straight from my heart.
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.” Matthew 24:37-39
Friends, we need to remain watchful! Christ’s second coming will be swift and sudden – there will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny. There’s no way of knowing when He’ll come back, but He says to always be ready (Read the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins – Matthew 25).
We live in crazy, uncertain times and need to pay special attention to the warnings that are in the Bible. We see the history of Israel; their turning away from God, and how He allowed bad things (captivity) to happen to the nation in order for them to repent and turn back to Him – we see this all throughout the Old Testament. 2 Timothy 3:10 tells us that ALL scripture is inspired by God to teach us what is right and to show us what is wrong in our lives. Among many warnings to us from the Bible, is a central warning in the book of Hebrews…
“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” Hebrews 2:1, 3
I’ll leave you with this statement made by David Wilkerson… “Here is why God warns his faithful ones: it is so that when sudden disaster strikes, they are not swept away with fear. When that dreadful event comes, God’s people must know that what has happened is not an accident or a random act of ruthless nations. They are to have the peace of Christ in their hearts, knowing that our God is still master of the universe. In this way, the Lord’s people will have been warned. And they won’t panic when other men’s hearts fail them for fear at all the frightful things they see coming on the earth.” – David Wilkerson