Do you have a comfy spot in your home where you go to relax and de-stress? Is there one specific dwelling place that you look forward to as you are driving home from work, a loud sports activities with your kids, or a long trip away? I have a comfy chair on the second floor of my house that I sit in to do all my writing. The view of the harbor, boats, flags, and clubhouse from my windows is like a tranquilizer. The minute I sink into the chair, which once belonged to my mother, I feel safe and at ease.

I hope you have a dwelling place like that as well.

Today we read a psalm of Moses where he refers to God as our dwelling place. This is the only psalm that Moses wrote, but you can find other examples of his song-writing in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 and 33.

Scholars believe that Moses wrote this during the time described in Numbers 20. This was after the death of his sister Miriam, after being barred from entering the Promised Land due to his disobedience of striking the rock in the wilderness, and after his brother Aaron died. We can certainly see why his attention was now focused on God being his only dwelling place.

Such a lovely image! Moses reminds us that God has been a source of comfort and peace since the beginning of time. People come and go, armchairs and ottomans eventually make their way to the landfill, but God has always been and will always be there for us as a safe and easy place to dwell.

Psalm 90 (Common English Bible)

¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You turn us back to dust
    and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
    are like yesterday when it is past
    or like a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning;
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

You can almost hear his loneliness for his siblings in this last part. People fade and wither and God turns us back to dust in his timing. But what will always remain is that he is God, from everlasting to everlasting.

Spend some time in your dwelling place today and meditate on that. When losses come in your life, and they will come, God will be your dwelling place in all generations.

My Dwelling Place