A Dwelling Place by Amber Thiessen
My kids love being with their people. I mean, really love it. They eagerly anticipate time to spend together with the ones they love. Whether it’s a birthday party with family, a camping trip, or a bible study night, they want to know who will be there and respond with animated joy. Complete with shouts of excitement, jumping up and down, and persistent questioning, “how much longer?” as the hours wind down until it’s time to go.
You could say they’re extroverted, excitable even.
They find so much joy in simply being together; they treasure it.
Isn’t it amazing then to consider one of the main themes in scripture is, God wants to be with us.
From the creation of the garden, walking together with Adam and Eve, God reached out in relationship to the ones crafted in his likeness. Fractured by the luring temptation of sin, that relationship forever changed, but not without him first planting the seed of hope, a promise of victory.
Then, God chose Abraham, through which he would bless the nations, a people too numerous to count, rescuing them by the hand of Moses to be his people, leading them “to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there” (Deuteronomy 12:11).
God established the tabernacle as a place where his glory would rest, hovering in a cloud, until Solomon would complete the extravagant temple, his glory filling the place, and Israel would prosper for a time.
The relationship between God and humanity had changed, but in his great plans and purpose, he always made way for sin to be washed clean, that his people could draw near to him. We are reminded that Israel did not always follow the Lord faithfully, a stark reminder of our own shortcomings, and fell into the hands of enemies, taken away in exile.
Yet again in steadfast love, God orchestrates events to bring the people back to Israel, to restore the temple and their city, with the promise,“ if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even though your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have My name dwell” (Nehemiah 1:9).
We see the steadfast faithfulness of God to his people as he endeavors to make a way to be with them.
There was an even greater rescue on the horizon. A savior was born, Emmanuel, whose name means God with us. While we remained trapped in our sin, the Lord Jesus was sent to make a way for us to be with him, free from the chains of sin, cleansed from our unrighteousness, and adopted into his family. Now, those who love and follow Christ are his dwelling place; Paul’s encouragement in 2 Corinthians 6:16 reminds us, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
It’s a wonder in the times we’re struggling with sin to know we are his beloved children. He is working on us, beautifully sanctifying us to become more like him. All this shaping of our character will come to perfect fulfillment at his glorious return when he makes all things new again. Revelation 21:3 tells us, “then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
The storyline of scripture pulls us along when despair threatens to overtake us, or depression leads us through a dark valley, his dwelling place is with his people, and he is there. Whether it feels like we’ve been abandoned or left completely alone, the truth of His promise is that he has not and will not forsake his children, for he says, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
May we grasp tightly to this truth in our struggles and our sufferings; he has been making a way to be near, that he is near, and when his kingdom comes, we will see him as he is.
After six years serving as church planters in East Africa, Amber’s family has made their home again on the Canadian prairies. She serves alongside her pastor-husband with their three children. She writes on her blog, In the Vine, at amberthiessen.com, helping women apply the gospel to their every day. Summer is her favorite season, where she enjoys camping, hiking, and exploring with her family.