"Dwelling Places"--a taste. PLUS contest for free book

You'll want to read my friend's newest book
alongside your Bible.

Yesterday I shared the background of a new book by my writer/speaker friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell, titled Dwelling Places. Here's a taste from her book, a chapter called "That Time a Nest was my Refuge."

I awaken to the sound of heavy rain encompassing me. This second floor sleeping porch contains one piece of furniture – a King sized bed surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling windows, setting me high amongst the trees.

Sliding down into the soft sheets, I pull up the covers, thankful for my cozy refuge from the outside world. Nothing, it seems, can touch me here.

For the first time in my life, I have the sensation of being in a nest, dwelling in the shelter of God’s wings.

And I remember that in the original language of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “to dwell” is sometimes translated as “to nest.”

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.” (Psalm 91.3-4) I recall how baby chicks rush under the mother hen at the first sign or sound of danger. Because she holds them tightly, they can nestle into a sense of safety and security.

I believe this is exactly how God wants me to feel about Him — my true Refuge.

Nesting in my bed, I recall reading a favorite book to my precious grandgirl- “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman. The story is simple but it cleverly reinforces the sheltering refuge of the home nest to those who are lost and wandering. In that story, after asking every creature she encounters, “Are you my mother?” the baby bird finally ends up safely back in the nest only to realize that her mother is the one who nourishes her and shelters her.

So often I relate to the psalmist’s yearnings, “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  (Psalm 61:4) David wants God to be his forever nest. He’s had enough of running and hiding and maneuvering and outwitting. He just wants to snuggle under those wings and be safe.

Is this the longing of your soul as well?

If so, all you have to do is call upon the name of the Lord. And that’s pretty simple. It can even sound something like “God, are you there?” or “Dear God, help me.” Or you could just groan and He will understand.

Hannah Whitall Smith discovered this the hard way when tragedy came. “The secret of His presence is a more secure refuge than a thousand Gibraltars. I do not mean that no trials come. They may come in abundance, but they cannot penetrate into that sanctuary of the soul, and we may dwell in perfect peace even in the midst of life’s fiercest storms.”

It’s time to stop asking everyone you meet some version of “Are you my refuge?”

And start dwelling –nesting – under the shelter of the One who knows you best and loves you most.

©2016 Lucinda Secrest McDowell Excerpted from “Dwelling Places” by Lucinda Secrest McDowell (Abingdon Press)

 

CONTEST FOR FREE BOOK!

The FIFTH reader to respond to me will win a free book.  Title your E-mail "contest" and send to E-mail given here. (Sending you to a link to avoid spammers.)