Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place--the Most High, Who is my refuge--no evil shall befall you, no plague come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder. The young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. (Verses 11-13)
My son, do not lose sight of these--keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and an adornment around your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of the sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3
Our son, Will, bought a big house a couple of years ago. Though it was a bank-owned sale, which usually means it would be pretty trashed inside, it was in great shape and only recently built. Will made a few improvements, like flooring and appliances, and the home was beautiful. The surprising thing to many is that it still is beautiful. Will is a stellar homeowner. Though he has rented out three of his four bedrooms to his friends, my boy still keeps the house clean and the lawn manicured. I was humbled the other night when one of his friends was bragging in my presence that our son, also the young man's landlord, was such a clean homeowner. "Yeah," said Will, "I turned into my mom when I bought this house." We all laughed, but the truth of the matter made my eyes burn with quick tears. Living in our home all those years made our son like us. He mirrors what he learned, at least about housekeeping, at home.
Maybe that's why dwelling in the Lord is so important. Living with Him, we become like Him. Talking with the Lord, listening to Him, we get into His mind. Understand what's important to Him. If we are ever going to gain wisdom and discretion, it will be under his tutelage. How is it possible to lose our way when we are looking to our God for direction? If we never veer far from the shadow of His wing? The reason we don't need to fear the enemy--the wicked of this generation--is because we live in the house of the One Who wins. It's that simple. Who has already won. Before time.
Our problem, being the dusty beings we are, is that we can be lured away from the heart of God by the old adder himself--Satan. In his efforts to destroy us, he likes to take us to places he rules. Usually these little jaunts seem fun, even innocuous, at first. We follow the shiny object. There is a story of natives in the jungle who captured monkeys using this technique. The men built cages with bars just far enough apart the monkey could reach its hand into it. At the bottom of the cage the natives placed a shiny rock. The unsuspecting monkey, curious about the lovely thing glistening in the sunlight, would reach in and grab the rock. Of course, the monkey couldn't retrieve its fist back through the bars. But it wouldn't let go of the shiny object. It wasn't trapped on the inside, but on the outside of the cage, simply because it wouldn't let go of the perceived treasure so tightly clenched in its fist. A little wisdom. A little discretion. These the monkey could use to understand the whole thing was a trap in the first place. The silly little animal wouldn't have walked right into the trap. But, for goodness sake, let the shiny object go when you know you've been fooled!
In order to keep our feet from stumbling, we must dwell in the Lord. We have the promise above because we have made the Lord our dwelling place. We aren't wondering about the blackboard jungle of life looking for kicks. The promise for safety doesn't cover our promiscuity--our going after idols or shiny objects. The promise is secured to the place: in God. In Him is wisdom and discretion. And when the enemy comes or when God decides to deal with evil, we are in a safe house. When we venture out on our path, it is with His direction and protection. When the enemy throws up roadblocks, tries to trip us up, we have angels at the ready to catch us. To keep us from falling--for the lies of the enemy, for the traps of the devil, for addictions, attachments, and idols. Because? We have God's ways in our heads. When the hard times come, and they will, we can say to the enemy: No weapon formed against me shall prosper! Tramp on his lies. Push back on the old lion who goes about roaring and looking for someone to devour. His teeth were all removed at Calvary. His head stomped on three days later.
So when suddenly the world falls apart--ours or the bigger one--we are safely harbored. Now and forever. For as long as our Father has planned for us to be here on planet Earth, He has promised to take care of those of us who allow Him to dwell in us. Angels stand ready to save us. To fight the enemy on our behalf. That is how intimately acquainted the Father is with our way. How fierce He is with any who would hurt us, His children, nestled against the warmth of His feathers and listening to His heartbeat.
My son, do not lose sight of these--keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and an adornment around your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of the sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3
Our son, Will, bought a big house a couple of years ago. Though it was a bank-owned sale, which usually means it would be pretty trashed inside, it was in great shape and only recently built. Will made a few improvements, like flooring and appliances, and the home was beautiful. The surprising thing to many is that it still is beautiful. Will is a stellar homeowner. Though he has rented out three of his four bedrooms to his friends, my boy still keeps the house clean and the lawn manicured. I was humbled the other night when one of his friends was bragging in my presence that our son, also the young man's landlord, was such a clean homeowner. "Yeah," said Will, "I turned into my mom when I bought this house." We all laughed, but the truth of the matter made my eyes burn with quick tears. Living in our home all those years made our son like us. He mirrors what he learned, at least about housekeeping, at home.
Maybe that's why dwelling in the Lord is so important. Living with Him, we become like Him. Talking with the Lord, listening to Him, we get into His mind. Understand what's important to Him. If we are ever going to gain wisdom and discretion, it will be under his tutelage. How is it possible to lose our way when we are looking to our God for direction? If we never veer far from the shadow of His wing? The reason we don't need to fear the enemy--the wicked of this generation--is because we live in the house of the One Who wins. It's that simple. Who has already won. Before time.
Our problem, being the dusty beings we are, is that we can be lured away from the heart of God by the old adder himself--Satan. In his efforts to destroy us, he likes to take us to places he rules. Usually these little jaunts seem fun, even innocuous, at first. We follow the shiny object. There is a story of natives in the jungle who captured monkeys using this technique. The men built cages with bars just far enough apart the monkey could reach its hand into it. At the bottom of the cage the natives placed a shiny rock. The unsuspecting monkey, curious about the lovely thing glistening in the sunlight, would reach in and grab the rock. Of course, the monkey couldn't retrieve its fist back through the bars. But it wouldn't let go of the shiny object. It wasn't trapped on the inside, but on the outside of the cage, simply because it wouldn't let go of the perceived treasure so tightly clenched in its fist. A little wisdom. A little discretion. These the monkey could use to understand the whole thing was a trap in the first place. The silly little animal wouldn't have walked right into the trap. But, for goodness sake, let the shiny object go when you know you've been fooled!
In order to keep our feet from stumbling, we must dwell in the Lord. We have the promise above because we have made the Lord our dwelling place. We aren't wondering about the blackboard jungle of life looking for kicks. The promise for safety doesn't cover our promiscuity--our going after idols or shiny objects. The promise is secured to the place: in God. In Him is wisdom and discretion. And when the enemy comes or when God decides to deal with evil, we are in a safe house. When we venture out on our path, it is with His direction and protection. When the enemy throws up roadblocks, tries to trip us up, we have angels at the ready to catch us. To keep us from falling--for the lies of the enemy, for the traps of the devil, for addictions, attachments, and idols. Because? We have God's ways in our heads. When the hard times come, and they will, we can say to the enemy: No weapon formed against me shall prosper! Tramp on his lies. Push back on the old lion who goes about roaring and looking for someone to devour. His teeth were all removed at Calvary. His head stomped on three days later.
So when suddenly the world falls apart--ours or the bigger one--we are safely harbored. Now and forever. For as long as our Father has planned for us to be here on planet Earth, He has promised to take care of those of us who allow Him to dwell in us. Angels stand ready to save us. To fight the enemy on our behalf. That is how intimately acquainted the Father is with our way. How fierce He is with any who would hurt us, His children, nestled against the warmth of His feathers and listening to His heartbeat.
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