The Lord, My Habitation

UV 1239-10,000 The Lord , My Habitation
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26 v 9

The soul desires, the spirit seeks. When we seek the Lord the first thing in the morning, He sends His Spirit to satisfy or quench our spiritual thirst. The earlier we seek the Lord in our lives and seek to do His will on earth, the better. He will reveal Himself when we seek Him with all our heart. He will no longer hide Himself as He does with the rest of the world but He will show Himself strong on our behalf. He will speak with us and we will speak with Him. He will commune and communicate with us in diverse ways beyond tongue and language. Even in any task or project that we undertake we need to seek the blessings, the guidance, the wisdom, the grace and help of the Lord early enough so that we benefit from these spiritual gifts right from the start and we see the hand of the Lord at work in our lives.

The word “ soul” in this uni-verse is used in a sense synonymous with our mind. At night or at the end of our day and days, we need to recollect the various ways in which the Lord has blessed us. “ At night” also refers to our dark or difficult days and times or seasons. During these periods of relative famine, we need to lean more strongly on the Lord. We need to remember and thank Him for all the times He has rushed to our help when we cried out from our souls to Him. He gave us victory. He strengthened us from above and within. He delivered us. He helped us overcome our threat or challenge. He guided our minds away from gloomy and depressing thoughts. He lifted us up in our emotions. He enabled us to imagine and hope for the end of our troubles. He fulfilled our longing for a better time. We desired His presence and His fellowship with all our minds. He blessed our every thought, emotion and decision. He blessed our plans and helped to bring it to fruition beyond our expectation or request. He helped us strive for what is good, acceptable and perfect. We have seen the working of His Word in our lives, the fulfillment of His promises. We realize that His promises are meant to help us in our “ pilgrim’s progress.” It is the food, drink and nourishment that He supplies to us abundantly to provide for us during our earthly sojourn.

When we err and go wrong, the Lord judges, chastises and rebukes us in love with an intent to correct and perfect us. His Word at work in our daily lives are His judgements. These are the underlying principles or laws of our universe. By heeding these judgements, we learn of the righteousness of God. For He is Jehovah Maccadesh or the One who sanctifies us, who prepares us as sacred vessels set apart to be used for holy purpose. We consume but the purpose of life is not consumption. We earn but the purpose of life is not earning. We know but the purpose of life is not knowledge. We enjoy but the purpose of life is not happiness. We suffer but the purpose of life is not suffering. The overarching purpose of human life is to be set apart by God and to be used for His righteous purpose. Though we are inhabitants of earth, we are called to inhabit Heaven. As Scripture says, “ By His strength, He will guide me to His holy habitation. “ When God inhabits us here on earth, nothing can inhibit or limit us. It is another spiritual paradox that He clothes us in His presence. We are hemmed in all sides by His holy presence. We inhabit Him and He inhabits us. We have arrived at our destination and yet we are travelling towards Him. He is both habitat, the place where we live and move and which provides us opportunities for our food and sustenance. He is also our habitation, our homes where we can rest and feel safe and rejoice.
Prateep V Philip