“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalms 90:1-2; all Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated).

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (First Timothy 1:17).

It has been a few weeks since I posted to this blog. At the beginning of November, my wife and I have moved. We live only a few blocks from our old house—we found a bigger apartment—but the quarter-mile relocation has engulfed our time over the last few weeks. We are still unpacking and trying to figure out how we accumulated so much stuff in less than 20 years.

So, the concept of a “dwelling place” seems worth considering. In recent posts, we have looked at some of God’s attributes, including His status as the “self-existent One,” “the Ground of all Being,” etc. A natural outgrowth of that is the fact that God is eternal. An outgrowth of God’s eternal nature is His status as the believer’s dwelling place.

My wife and I have a new dwelling place. Our previous apartment, where we lived for 19 and a half years (since our wedding) is the place where I have lived the longest. I lived in my childhood home for about 17 years. Other homes have ranged from a few months to maybe four years. I have had two long-term dwelling places and several shorter-term addresses.

Yet, God is always our dwelling place. Psalm 90 was written by Moses, who spent much of his life in short-term locations. The Israelites traveled as nomads, setting up short-term camps wherever God directed them, for 40 years. They did not have a permanent earthly abode, but Moses says they did have a spiritual dwelling place. Moses writes that God had been their dwelling place “in all generations.” Wherever they went, God was there. He was their protector and provider. He had been with them since the time Abraham several centuries earlier, and He would continue to be with them. His eternal loving presence would abide with them. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and continued to fulfill His promises to them and their offspring long after they died.

Because He is the Eternal God, He outlasts our days.

“The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalms 90:10).

Most of Psalm 90 focuses on the difference between God’s eternal nature and our temporary status. Seventy or 80 years is a long time for us, but 1000 years is like a few hours to God. We think 70 or 80 years is a long time, but it is a mere blink in the eyes of God:

“For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night” (Psalms 90:4).

Paul’s praise to God, expressed in 1 Timothy 1:17, follows a passage where he testifies about how Jesus, by His grace, had radically transformed his life. God’s eternal majesty is linked to His grace, love, and mercy.

Since God is eternal, we can trust Him with our lives. Even if His plans make no sense to us, He knows what He is doing. Our lives are only 70 or 80 years long, and we have enough trouble seeing how our current circumstances will affect events five years from now. On the other hand, God’s work in our lives can have a long-term lasting impact. Our lives are short and we cannot see tomorrow, but God can use our lives to impact future generations.

Because God is eternal, He is able to offer us a life that is eternal. Our earthly time is short. Since 1000 years are like yesterday in God’s eyes, a millennium will be short compared to our entire existence beyond the grave. Perhaps the apostles are still thinking “We just got here!” in heaven. Long after the sun has ceased shining, God’s people will still be celebrating in heaven. As we share in the eternal life of Christ, we will last beyond time. Because He lives forever and we live in Him, our lives are eternal. He is our eternal dwelling place.

Copyright © 2019 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.