God Is Our Dwelling Place In Times Of Freedom And Isolation

by Eric Elkin

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.”

— Pslam 90:1

I am searching for a dwelling place. A place where I can sit and just be. Somewhere that is not home but has a comfortable home feeling to it. The place would need the kind of atmosphere the old “Cheers” song described. You know what I am talking about, a dwelling where everyone knows your name.

The comfort of familiarity is essential, but it cannot be exclusive. Places requiring membership or passwords never seem peaceful to me. In the place I am thinking about fresh faces can come in and feel as though they always belonged. Some of the best new relationships in my life started when I met a stranger in a dwelling place. That comment sounds a little creepy when I read it, but I don’t know how else to describe it.

My first conversation with my future wife happened in a dwelling place. We were two strangers sitting in a familiar setting when she said, “Hi.” Her greeting was the extent of the conversation in that first meeting. Yet, her words were the beginning of a nearly 40-year relationship. We would return to that location for many more conversations. It became our dwelling place for a time.

Can you name the great dwelling places in your life?

This morning I find myself warmed by the thoughts of these past places. There was hanging out on Saturday mornings at the YMCA when I was a child. I loved sitting in the “The Commons” area at Concordia College in between classes. Then there was Friday morning breakfast at Elsie’s with Claude Schach. Watching the NCAA basketball tournament with Lonn Anderson at the Brooklyn Dodger Bar in Brooklyn. The names, relationships, and places are too great to name in one article.

“Let us remember that within us there is a palace of immense magnificence.”

— Teresa of Avila

As I think about my favorite dwelling places there is one common thread running through them all, God. Yes, I know, I am of a particular demographic who dwells with other people of faith. It would strange if I was not hanging out with people of faith. Yet, I think this would be true even if I were not a pastor.

People of faith built the YMCA to be a dwelling place for all people in the community. The founders of Concordia College established a school to educate and nurture faith in young adults. I’m not sure Jesus would have loved Elsie’s scrapple, but I know he would have spent some time at the Dodger bar. Being in and amongst the other people is God’s dwelling place.

Perhaps this is why it is so hard to see God right now. In a pandemic, all the dwelling places are closed or restricted. Even as a pastor, if I cannot be around other people, it is more difficult to see God. This is not a condition unfamiliar to the Bible, especially in the Old or Hebrew Scriptures.

Isolation is part of the fabric of the history of God’s people. Even when they were being delivered out of slavery in Egypt, they endured years of loneliness in the wilderness. It is why Moses sings this song in Psalm 90, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” The words declare a reality the people need to remember. God is our dwelling place both in times of freedom and isolation. The only thing that changes is our ability to see God.

Click to read Pslam 90: 1-6