Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

February 27– Morning

 by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“You have made the Lord your refuge and dwelling place.” 

—Psalm 91:9

The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar of fire stayed in one place, the tents were pitched, but the next day, when the sun had risen, the trumpet sounded, and the people were in motion again. They followed the Ark of the Covenant through the narrow pathways of the mountain, up the hillside, or along the arid, desert floor. They scarcely had time to rest before they heard the sound of “Away! This is not your resting place; you must push onward, journeying towards the Promised Land!” They were never long in one place. Even wells and palm trees could not detain them. Yet they had an abiding home in their God. His cloudy pillar was their shade, and its flame by night was their household fire. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle down.

It is in this context that Moses says, “Although we are always changing, Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.” The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sickly today and well tomorrow; he may be in happiness today but tomorrow distressed.  But there is no change with regard to his relationship to God. If God loved me yesterday, he loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord himself. Let prospects be blighted; let hopes be blasted; let joy be withered; let mildews destroy everything; I have lost nothing of what I have in God. I am a traveler in this world but at home in my God. He is “my enduring dwelling place.” [M&E]