Abiding in Security

The word for abide quite literally means: to make our home somewhere; to pass the night. Typically, our home is the place where our defenses are let down, and the real stuff comes out. Let us dwell; let us stay and abide in the safest place that God has given us. Let us live there, and rest in the secure promises of God—the promise that we now have access to the holy place, and sit under the shadow of His wings. And when we know we are secure, we can bring our questions and fears to the Lord unashamedly and without condemnation.

The question is, is the real stuff coming out towards God? Are we being honest with Him about our fears and insecurities, allowing Him the opportunity to speak into those fears, and opening our hearts to receive what He has to give? You cannot have a real and authentic relationship with someone you are not willing to be real and authentic with. God already knows all that is going on in our hearts, why don’t we simply acknowledge what He already knows? Security starts with communion with God.

In Charles Spurgeon’s commentary, “The Treasury of David,” in response to Psalm 91, he says that, “communion with God is safety. The more closely we cling to our almighty God, the more confident we may be.”

After losing our second daughter, Dasah, I struggled to pray, and wanted nothing to do with my Bible. I felt as if God had abandoned me at my darkest hour. I remember my husband gently sitting beside me as I cried on the couch in our living room and saying, “I think we should read from the Bible together.” I said through tears, “I just can’t. But I know there is nowhere else for me to go. I’m trying to figure out a different way, but none of those ways are working.” I felt like Peter after Jesus asks if he is going to leave Him too, “Where else will I go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

Security is found in surrender. When we dwell (make our home) somewhere, we put ourselves under the authority of the one who runs the home. And we submit. We cannot dwell without submission. It’s the way we come to Christ—submitting our life to Him.

I had to ask myself this question on the couch with my husband that day long ago, and I’ve had to ask myself this question a thousand times before and after:

“Will I unclench my first and say, ‘God, do with me what you will today, this weekend, in this moment?’”

God wants to, and is more than ready and willing to, speak to us in our pain. It is a backwards way to know the security of God—laying down our lives to follow Christ, and laying our pain at His feet. The world says, “take control, do what feels good, and create ‘illusions’ of security all around you.” God says that He will be our security in the midst of an insecure world

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf…” And this hope is cultivated more deeply in our lives through suffering. Romans 5:3-5 says “knowing that suffering produces perseverance and perseverance, character and character, hope; and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our heart through the Holy Spirt.”
Hebrews 6:19-20

When we abide, and place ourselves under the mighty hand of God, we are promised security, protection, and His very nearness and presence. And this is the promise we are given as children of the living God. But we miss out on experiencing the blessings of that promise when we look elsewhere for comfort and protection, and when we turn our backs from the One whose shadow we live under.

Would you take some time, in response to Psalm 91:1, to confess to God the ways in which you have not been dwelling with Him—the things your hands have been clenched around? One of the ways you can do this is by simply asking God to bring to mind anything that is sin in your life, and writing it down on a piece of paper. When you are finished, write 1 John 1:9 over top of it and then tear it up and throw it away as a reminder of His forgiveness and His covering of those sins.

Hi! I’m Lindsey. I live in Orlando, Florida with my stud of a husband Kevin. We have 3 incredible children, Sophie and Dasah who now live with Jesus, and Jaden who came into our lives through adoption. We have a very energetic golden retriever, and love living in the sunshine state. I get to spend my days loving on my son, investing my life in college students here through a non-profit organization we’re a part of, and when I have time, writing on my blog about the hope that doesn’t disappoint!

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