Dwelling Places: Words to Live in Every Season

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Dwelling Places

Words to live IN every season

Copyright © 2016 by Lucinda Secrest McDowell

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN, 37228-0988 or e-mailed to permissions@umpublishing.org.

Macro Editor: Ramona Richards

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McDowell, Lucinda Secrest, 1953- author.

Title: Dwelling places : words to live in every season / Lucinda Secrest

McDowell.

Description: First [edition]. | Nashville, Tennessee : Abingdon Press, 2016.

| Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015045589 (print) | LCCN 2015048631 (ebook) | ISBN

9781501815324 (binding: pbk.) | ISBN 9781501815331 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: Meditations.

Classification: LCC BV4832.3 .M348 2016 (print) | LCC BV4832.3 (ebook) | DDC

242—dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015045589

The Shell, Constant Victory, Today, Hearts Ease, Where Dwellest Thou, and The Glory of that Light, poems from Amy Carmichael, are from The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael: Mountain Breezes by Amy Carmichael, © 1999 by The Dohnavur Fellowship. Used by permission of CLC Publications. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.

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Epigraph

If you are weary of wandering,

Hungry for a true home,

Longing for serenity and refuge,

And eager to live an authentic story

filled with grace and mercy . . .

These words are for you.

My dwelling place will be with them,

I will be their God, and they will be my people.

~ Ezekiel 37:27

Before the winds that blow do cease,

Teach me to dwell within Thy calm:

Before the pain has passed in peace,

Give me, my God, to sing a psalm.

Let me not lose the chance to prove

The fullness of enabling love.

O Love of God, do this for me:

Maintain a constant victory.

~ Amy Carmichael (1867–1951)

Constant Victory

Contents

Dwell

Fall

Shine

Advent

Renew

Lent

Grow

Summer

Gratitudes

Epilogue: Secrets of the Nest

About the Author

Dwell

1. dwell

God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

~ Revelation 21:3

One word.

In the days preceding the New Year, one word kept clamoring for my attention from surprising places: dwell.

I read it in my psalm for the day: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High / will rest in the shadow of the Almighty (91:1). I noticed dwell on the masthead of a glossy magazine all about clean living spaces. I uttered it as an admonition to someone—Don’t dwell on your past mistakes.

It was hard not to notice it, so I became curious and finally turned to God in prayer. I whispered, OK. Dwell. Please reveal what You want me to learn from this word.

So as my word-for-the-year marinated in heart and mind, I embraced both meanings of dwell: 1. to live and 2. to focus. It soon became obvious that all too often I live amid hurry and obligation, dwelling in anxiety and surrounded by noise. And where was my default focus—circumstances, lists, self-preservation, tasks, things?

No more.

Throughout the Bible God calls His people to dwell with Him constantly. He offers us a refuge and shelter, and He fills it with a beauty and peace that is restorative. And, best of all, He sends Jesus Christ to dwell in our hearts and make His home with us forever!

Would you like some of that in your life?

First we need to acknowledge that God is the only One who can provide such a life for us. Moses, that great wanderer, knew this. God had long ago promised to be with him wherever he journeyed. So even though he was often a stranger in a strange land, Moses was confident in his true dwelling: Lord, you have been our dwelling place / throughout all generations (Psalm 90:1).

And this same God invites us to dwell with Him!

In the original language of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for dwell is yashab, which is translated to dwell, to sit down, to remain. How can we possibly do this? Sitting down is considered unproductive. We are a culture on the move! Believe me, friend, I know the challenges of making time for close communion with God in prayer and study—that’s why I’m suggesting one word a day as our focus.

We can do that!

After all, we have certainly dwelled everywhere else: we give our time and resources to other places, people, and projects without a second thought. Yet all along, God is there with us, offering us His continual presence no matter where our journey might lead. Do you have a difficult appointment today? He’ll go with you. Do you cry yourself to sleep at night? He’s beside you, holding you close. His constant presence is the greatest gift of all.

Today you can truly make the Most High your place of residence (Psalm 91:9 CEB). You can dwell with a firm knowledge of His presence with you always. Will you join me in discovering all the dwelling places God has for us throughout every season?

My child, I know you are exhausted running from this to that. And perhaps you regret that you have not taken more time to draw near to Me. But it’s never too late. I’m still here, and I long to offer you a refuge—a respite from your busy life. Will you choose to dwell with Me? All you have to do is say Here I am, Lord. Or you could even groan. Just come. And remain. Sit still. I love you.

2. quietness

Therefore, the Lord God,

  the holy one of Israel, says:

In return and rest you will be saved;

  quietness and trust will be your strength—

but you refused.

~ Isaiah 30:15 CEB

Daddy hallucinated while recovering from brain surgery. He clearly heard the voice of baritone Doug Oldham singing the gospel song There Is a Quiet Place. The lyrics, which speak of a peaceful dwelling where one meets God and finds strength far from the rapid pace, were a clear sign from God. He was a successful businessman in midlife; now it was time to build in more rest and relaxation.

He had survived the brain tumor. Now he would make the life change.

So from his hospital bed, Daddy purchased (sight unseen) a mountain cottage by a babbling brook three states away and christened it Quiet Place. After the song. And this dwelling place was a life-changer. For more than a quarter century our extended family built precious memories in that Montreat, North Carolina, sanctuary—and a few of them were even fairly quiet!

Do you need a quiet place—somewhere to go and experience God’s peace and presence? Do you deliberately carve out hours or days when there is no noise, no music, no technology, and no interruptions to dispel the sounds of silence?

Or are you like the Israelites in today’s verse who have yet again turned away from their God in order to pursue all the world has to offer? The prophet Isaiah is begging them to return and find strength through quietness and rest. Yet they refuse. Do you? I know why I refuse: because it’s simply not natural to be alone and quiet and still. And yet it is a restorative spiritual discipline.

Ruth Haley Barton elaborates, To be in solitude is to choose to do nothing. For extensive periods of time. All accomplishment is given up. Silence is required to complete solitude, for until we enter quietness, the world still lays hold of us. When we go into solitude and silence we stop making demands on God. It is enough that God is God and we are his.¹

It is in the quietness that we hear the still, small voice of God. He is longing to speak to us, but our lives are too filled with the cacophony of the world and chatter of our own voice to actually hear. Dr. Richard Peace urged his students to develop a taste for silence, a comfort in the midst of silence. How could you and I do that today?²

It will take some strategy, for sure. Carving out a place and time with no distractions. Turning off smartphones, pagers, computers, iPods, iPads. And then putting ourselves in a position of receiving—with open ears, open hands, open hearts—all that God wants to say. It will seem awkward and almost impossible at first. But, if you’re like me, the silence will soon become a wanted friend, a comfortable dwelling place.

In this quietness, we create space for God’s activity, God’s agenda, God’s words rather than filling every minute with our own.

What will He reveal to you today?

My child, hush. Settle down and rest. Breathe. Block out every other sound except the quietness that will descend upon your weary soul. I know it’s hard. I know you have so much on your mind and heart that needs immediate attention. But it will wait while you linger here with Me and allow your soul to catch up with your body. Close your eyes and hear My whisper through the trees. I am here. All is well.

3. soul

My soul yearns, even faints,

  for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

  for the living God.

~ Psalm 84:2

Have you ever had that feeling?

You know, the one in which you’re desperately hungry—or is it thirsty?—for something. But nothing sounds good, and you really don’t feel like eating or drinking, but there’s this craving.

And so you do something to fill up: eat, shop, gamble, clean, read romance, collect, drink, work out, cook—something! But it never does fill you up.

Because that part of you that yearns to be filled? That’s your soul. And our verse today provides the only answer to this need: the living God.

Longing. Wanting. Desiring. These words are repeatedly associated with the original Old Testament Hebrew word for soul: nephesh. That’s why the word is so often translated in the context of mouth or stomach or throat. The Bible talks about a soul being hollow or empty or hungry or thirsty—never satisfied.

What is your soul craving today? Security, love, significance?

Only God can satisfy. That’s why the psalmist declares, Your faithful love / is better than life itself! / I’m fully satisfied— / as with a rich dinner (Psalm 63:3, 5 CEB).

In His earthly ministry Jesus also spoke to our souls when He warned us that pleasing our appetites alone will cause us to lose our souls: For what is the use of a man gaining the whole world if he loses or forfeits his own soul? (Luke 9:25 JBP) Being successful in the outside world doesn’t help if our inner world collapses.

John Wesley is known for asking everyone he encountered, How is it with your soul?

Be honest. How would you answer? Is your soul dry? Empty? Flourishing? Rested? Only you know about the inner life that no one else sees. Perhaps it is time for making soul care a priority.

Because the most important thing about us is not what we do; it’s who we become.

The late Dallas Willard spent a lifetime encouraging believers to understand the importance of soul care: What is running your life at any given moment is your soul. Not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not even your feelings, but your soul. The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self. The soul is the life center of human beings. You’re a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God.³

Best of all, your soul is His heart’s delight.

My child, you polish up nicely, and folks like what they see. But I alone know the child within who is sometimes fearful, frequently overwhelmed, and occasionally despairs of life ever becoming manageable. It is my truest desire and deepest joy to nurture the care of your precious soul. Will you allow me access? May you find refuge as I draw you close into my sheltering nest. Be filled.

4. grace

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

~ Ephesians 2:8-9

The best gift I ever received was grace. In fact, it quite literally changed my life.

Unfortunately, I had been a Christ follower for many years before I actually opened this precious gift I’d been carrying around and made it my own. I knew grace was part of the package deal for salvation, but I never understood that grace was God’s gift we don’t deserve and can never earn and can never lose.

So I kept trying to please God and get everything just right so that He might love me more and consider me worthy. Striving was my dwelling place, and despair was my landing place every time I failed at perfection. Until one day, in His mercy, God stooped down (the Hebrew word for grace means to stoop) and lifted me up.

He reminded me that I am already loved, already accepted, already chosen for kingdom work, not because of anything I have done, but simply because I am His own. And that, dear friend, is the Gift of Grace.

Because we live in a world of reward and punishment, it is difficult to grasp the idea of receiving something we don’t deserve. And yet that’s the very nature of grace as illustrated in today’s verse: not by works, so that no one can boast. Perhaps this acronym says it best—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Frederick Buechner explains,

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you. There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you will reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift, too.⁴

I used to dwell in a place of judgment, performance, rules, hurry, and approval. Nothing was enough. I could never rest; there was always more to do. Grace reminds me that my love and the outpouring of my life for the kingdom flow from knowing with confidence that, though I am not worthy, as God’s child I am totally received and loved.

Do you need more grace in your life? The great news is it is already here for you if you are a child of the King. Just like when I’m home in the South and order a big breakfast at the diner. When I choose bacon and eggs on the menu, the plate always arrives with grits as well. Honey, you don’t have to special order grits. Down here they just come with! the waitress cheerfully explains.

Grace comes with your commitment to Christ. So, open the gift and dwell in the love. Then, be sure and pass it along to others.

My child, it’s time to stop trying so hard and simply release yourself to Me. Unclench your fists and open your hands for the gift I so long for you to appropriate in your life: My grace, My favor, My unconditional love. As you do, may your whole being wash clean with a peace and sweet aroma of gratitude and grace to all whom you encounter. I am enough.

5. prayer

I cry out to you, Lord: Come to me—quickly!

  Listen to my voice when I cry out to you!

Let my prayer stand before you like incense;

  let my uplifted hands be like the evening offering.

~ Psalm 141:1-2 CEB

The sanctuary was filled with incense, the sunbeams through the windows reflecting the vapor as a cloud settling on the praying congregation. This Orthodox church was nearest to where we were house-sitting out in the country, so we had chosen to worship with this particular band of believers that Sunday. Turns out it was their twenty-fifth anniversary, and thus a two-and-a-half-hour service!

As I listened to the familiar scriptural prayer in an unfamiliar chant, I understood today’s verse anew. For the Hebrews, incense symbolized an ascent to God. The prayers of God’s people rise upward like the smoke from the incense, filtering through the atmosphere as an offering. Then the fragrance fills the holy space as God’s presence hovers over and around us.

Prayer is our privilege—a lifeline to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. An opportunity to communicate our worship, our gratitude, our concerns, our desires, our questions to the One who hears. And answers.

For my own evening prayer offering, I like to use a version of an ancient practice first suggested by Ignatius of Loyola in the sixteenth century: the prayer of Examen. Basically this is a time at the end of the day when we reflect on our day before God, in order to detect His presence and determine His direction for us.

Would you like to try this?

Picture yourself sitting with Jesus and talking through the details of your day. In some ways, this is merely an expansion of what we used to do with our four young children at the supper table. We asked each to share God-sightings and at least one difficult situation that happened. It’s all about being more attentive to our own actions and responses and to God’s continual presence in our daily lives. All in the spirit of prayer.

Here are some guidelines for starting an evening prayer of Examen:

As you begin to pray, still and quiet yourself. Give thanks for some of the specific gifts God has given you today. Then ask the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your thoughts as you prayerfully review your day. Let the details play out like a short movie. Pay attention both to the things that gave you life and to the things that drained you. Notice where the Spirit invites you to linger and ponder.⁵

• Where did you see God in your life today? When did He seem absent?

• In what situations did you respond with grace and mercy? Were there also times of disobeying or resisting God?

• When did you feel most alive and empowered? What made you feel drained or discouraged?

• What needs to be confessed? For whom do you need to pray as a follow-up to a conversation or a prompting from the Spirit?

• How will you live tomorrow in God’s presence and power?

As night falls and rest beckons, may you know your prayers and your life are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God (2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT).

My child, how I love hearing your voice lifted up to Me in prayer. Not because I don’t know your deepest thoughts or concerns, but because I want you to come to Me and voice them. This communion with one another is precious and will make a difference in your life. Bring each person you care about to My throne of grace. Because I will always answer.

6. courageous

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

~ Joshua 1:9

There are no coincidences.

My work for today is to write about the word courageous.

And I just got the call that author and missionary Elisabeth Elliot has passed through gates of splendor and is finally Home. As her daughter tells me of her mother’s final moments I realize that the courage with which she faced all of life never left her—even at the end.

I remember her saying to me, Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to do the thing we fear.

Elisabeth not only believed but also wholeheartedly lived today’s Scripture promise the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And that was the secret of her courage:

• To continue ministry in the jungles of Ecuador at age twenty-eight after her young husband had been speared to death, along with four other missionaries.

• To take her toddler daughter, Valerie, to live and share Christ among the