There was no greater desire for David, the shepherd boy, warrior, king, and musician than to be in God’s presence. While he tended his father’s sheep, David, the shepherd boy, had plenty of time to meditate and experience God as his shepherd, provider, and protector (1 Samuel 17:34-35). David, the warrior, proclaimed this knowledge and his faith in the covenant God made with Israel to King Saul and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:36-37, 45-47). He experienced God’s presence when God went with David to fight Goliath, guiding the stone from the slingshot with such precision to accomplish complete victory over Goliath and the Philistines. David, the king, brought the Ark of the Covenant, representing God’s presence, to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15). As king, David assigned men from the tribe of Levi to regularly “minister in God’s presence, to make petitions, to give thanks and praise the Lord the God of Israel” (1 Chronicles 16:4-6, also see 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, 16:41-42). David, the musician, penned his desire for God’s presence in the beloved Psalm 23:6b, “. . . and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The Hebrew word translated dwell in verse 6 of Psalm 23 is yasab. Along with the word dwell, yasab means to live, inhabit, stay, cause to settle, and cause to sit. We see this same Hebrew word translated dwell in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” You could say it this way, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High for only that hour on Sunday will burn in the scorching sun.”

Do you see the intentionality of this word? This word describes time, effort, and attention to actively entering God’s presence. Yes, God lives inside of us! Yes, God’s presence is always with us! However, we must regularly take time to seek and enter God’s presence. We must settle into His presence. We must sit at the Master’s feet like Mary did in Luke 10:38-42. Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.”

Today, I want to ask you how your dwell is. Are you dwelling with the LORD day after day, morning after morning, noon and night, too? Are you sneaking in a prayer, a song of worship to the LORD, or meditating on His Word when you have an extra moment, or do you pull out your phone?

I encourage you to join me this week, along with keeping your daily devotional time, to begin writing into your daily to-do list one or two bullet points that say, “Sing to the LORD,” “Pray,” “meditate on God’s Word.” Let’s intentionally continue being in God’s presence.

How is your dwell?
Pastor Tom