My Endless Dwelling Place

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.” Psalm 90:1

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true… It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death…’

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb… Nothing unclean will ever enter it,.. only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

“They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more… The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 21:1-8,22-23,27; 22:4-5

The dwelling place that is the Lord, spoken of by Moses, is the same dwelling place for His children from eternity past to eternity future. What is promised is prepared and personal and certain, a reminder of the constancy and infinitude of God and our hope. While we dwell in spirit with Him now here below, the partial knowing will be fully revealed when we see Him face to face. (John 14: 1-3; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2)

The promise of life forevermore is as sure as it is broad. What has always been and is now will forever be, and will be made new. Unending intimacy, constant communion, unbroken fellowship, constantly fresh and reviving. Present hope and certain spiritual reality will become actual, tangible reality. God’s people will be forever satisfied, every longing and thirst will be perfectly quenched, evil and suffering, sadness and pain, sin and guilt will be forever removed.

Are we living in the astounding hope and fresh mercy of this promise? What causes us to bemoan limited vision, to stay entrapped in sinful situations or long-held resentments? How can the certainty of God’s abiding love, strength, wisdom, and power inspire action today? Acknowledging and tapping into God’s dwelling with us should prompt bold and joy-filled living. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)

Lord, cause me to delight in and boldly hope in Your eternal dwelling place with me, for Your glory.