Psalms 91: 1
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The recent cry of my heart has been – Lord, teach me to abide. As I have been seeking the face of God, He has been revealing more and more to me what it really means to abide in Him.
As Christians, many times we abide outside of God unknowingly. Throughout our day, we make life decisions without consulting Him, or we consult Him only when we feel like it. But what the Lord revealed on my heart is that abiding in His presence is a consistent, continuous process. This process is fueled and set in motion through the engine of an active secret place.
Psalm 91 speaks of dwelling in the secret place and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. The engine of a prayer life, the engine of a fasted life, cultivates a secret place where God supernaturally meets with us, so we can carry His presence throughout our day and abide in Him in every moment.
I was encouraged through this revelation because the only way to overcome is to abide.
As I look at the world and all that is happening, like David, I am choosing to encourage myself in the Lord. With all the natural disasters happening, from earthquakes to fires and dangerous hurricanes to the overwhelming increase in the persecution of Christians in the world, we can see that biblical prophecy is fulfilling and time is running out.
When the Lord revealed on my heart a desire for Him to teach me to abide, I believe that it was from a place of preparation. I know that this word is not just for me but for all believers alike. He is calling us to abide, so I’m encouraging you to learn to abide in Him.
To abide does not mean we will experience rainbows or sunshine every day of our lives. What it means is that when the strong winds and the storms come our way, there will be covering over our spirit man that enables us to withstand. Abiding gives us the power to overcome.
When I think about abiding and Christ teaching me how to abide, I picture the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. I believe that one major difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins is that the wise virgins abided in Him.
Matthew 25 verses 1-4
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
Verse four really caught my attention: “The wise ones, however, took oil in jars…”
Jars being plural, does it mean each wise virgin had one jar, or could it mean that there is a possibility that each wise virgin may have had more than one jar of oil? I believe that the additional jars of oil amongst the wise virgins were not the same quantity amongst them. The quantity of oil, I believe, represented the extent to which these virgins abided in the presence of the Lord.
Matthew 25 continues in verses 5-10
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
I’ve been learning recently that I can’t wait until my lamp is going out to buy oil; I won’t always have that luxury. These foolish virgins missed their opportunity because they were unprepared. Their unpreparedness resulted in the door being closed on them.
The call to abide is not just a call to sustain us now as the world is being shaken. But also to have jars of oil so our lamps burn when our Bridegroom is ready to make His appearance.
Be encouraged, abide in Christ, fill up Jars of oil, and remain steadfast.
Petal Perry Motivates
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