“They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt
so that
I might dwell among them.
I am the LORD their God.’
Exodus 29:46
Egypt represents bondage. God heard the cry of the Israelites and delivered them from their slavery. Apart from God, you and I are also living in bondage – slaves to our own sin and our own ways. Like the Israelites so many years ago, we are totally dependent upon God to rescue us … to bring us out of our own “Egypt.”
God’s reason for rescuing the Israelites then is the same reason He rescues us now: so that He can dwell with us.
God wants to dwell with you.
Does that truth resonate? Do you know you are loved by the Creator of the universe? Has your heart been transformed by the realization that He longs to dwell with you? Does this truth permeate your thought life?
Because God is holy, He cannot dwell in sin. The Holy Spirit cannot occupy a heart consumed with sin. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin is atoned for and God dwells in us.
Because of our identity in Jesus Christ, we have been moved from Egypt to the Promised Land, from slavery to freedom. Is that your reality, friend?
Are you living in the land of Promise? Are you living and abiding in Jesus? Are you living with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? If you are dwelling in spiritual freedom, these are the furnishings in your new home. If the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in your heart, these traits should be present and active in your life.
Too often we live in the Promised Land, looking over our shoulders at Egypt. We gaze upon what we gave up and perhaps even long to go back.
Have we forgotten the slavery and bondage?
Have we forgotten the misery?
Let’s choose to begin 2022 fully present in our new freedom! Let’s choose to dwell with Jesus – to abide in Him, celebrating God’s provision and the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. What better way to begin a new year than by celebrating that God dwells with us? He is our God! He is our Lord! He is our Savior and our Deliverer! Nothing that Egypt offers can come close to what we have in Him!
Our January Write the WORD bookmark and S.O.A.P. Bible study pages are now available – find your free copies on our Downloads page! I hope it spurs you on to focus on what it means to dwell in Him. And since there are two bookmarks on each page, why not pause to ask God who you might invite to join you in writing the Word in January?
In this week’s devotional video, Laura explored lessons about joy, surrender, and worship that we can learn from the Wise Men.
