The Dwelling Place: An Advent Reflection

I'm excited to bring you a new post this Advent season as I complete a study called Awakening Wonder: Experiencing the Nearness of Jesus. This study is by The Daily Grace Co. and I am loving it. I love everything I get from Daily Grace, but this study is truly something special.

When I ordered it, I had no idea the challenge my family would face this holiday season. After a week's long stay in the hospital, my infant nephew was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer that has left us all speechless. His first day home after his diagnosis was the first Sunday of Advent, which is the Sunday of Hope. It felt like divine timing. It felt like God was calling us to hope in the middle of this seemingly hopeless situation. And so we did and are. And as I've gotten deeper into this study, I find it tailored to exactly what I'm going through now. It teaches us to draw near to Jesus specifically in times of grief, uncertainty, and sorrow. It feels like it was written for me and for this moment.

If you've experienced the loss of a loved one or some other trial that makes the holidays bittersweet, I invite you to shift perspective from the Holiday Season to the Advent Season. Draw near to Jesus during this time. Allow Jesus to be the top priority this month, not baking cookies or decorating or even finding the perfect gift for that special someone. You can still do those things, but they don't have to be all-consuming. You can find new purpose, rest, and peace during this season with Jesus.

I'm thankful for this study and for this Advent season, because it will always remind me of my nephew. As I draw near to Jesus, I honor my nephew. I pray for him. I hope for healing. And no matter the outcome, this season will forever draw me closer to him and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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What Is Advent?

Advent is the season in the ancient church calendar that comes directly before Christmas. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word that means "arrival." During the four weeks leading up to Christmas--the day that is recognized as Jesus' birth--we anticipate and meditate on the arrival of Christ and all that He represents: hope for humanity, God's love for mankind, a guiding light for the world, a good shepherd for God's children, salvation from sin, and so much more. The theme for the first week of Advent is hope followed by the themes of peace, joy, and love.

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A Reflection on God's Love, Enduring Presence, and Hope Through Jesus

This week's study travels through the Old Testament to the New, reminding us of God's original intention for not only man but earth. When reading the creation story, we get so caught up in the creation of man that I think it's easy to overlook the creation of the earth--the Lord's dwelling place. And therefore, we don't fully understand what Satan attempted when he tricked Adam and Eve into sin. Nor do we understand the love God has for us as He continues to seek relationship with mankind throughout the Old Testament, ultimately leading to our renewed covenant with Him through Jesus.

Genesis 1:1-2 states that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters when the earth was without form. Yet, once the earth was created, God walked with Adam in the garden. This tells me that before the earth was formed, God had nowhere to walk, to land, to rest His feet. He existed only in His spirit form. Once the earth was formed, He had a place to walk, to dwell, a place to be embodied, and He had His family to dwell with.

Satan didn't just try to corrupt mankind with sin, he tried to banish God from His own dwelling place by corrupting the earth with sin. God created the earth not just as a home for man, but a home for Himself. Why else would He promise to create a new earth after His return?

God has always sought a home and a family. Even after Satan tried to steal His most precious creations from Him, the Lord found ways to remain present with His people and inhabit the earth.

When reading the Old Testament for the first time, it was a little off-putting to see God creating so many barriers between Him and His people. Why not send Jesus sooner? Why are you limiting yourself to clouds and burning bushes? But now I see it differently.

God never wanted distance between us. He always craved intimacy with us. The barriers He places between us in the Old Testament are (1) because of Satan's corruption not God's disgust with our lack of cleanliness, (2) because He still desired relationship with us even after our sin, and (3) for our own deliverance.

By remaining separate from sin--separate from man--in the Old Testament, God remains holy and pure. His holiness is what allows Him to send Jesus--the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice. If God became like man, corrupt like the world--like Satan--there would be no redemption for any of us. So now when I look at the ways that God presents Himself in the Old Testament, I see it through a lens of love rather than distance and displeasure.

God's love and presence manifests in flesh when He sends His son, Jesus Christ to dwell among us, teach us His truth, and ultimately die for us so that we may be reunited with the Lord here on earth through the Holy Spirit and after death, preserved for eternity in Jesus.

God's plan has always been to dwell with us on the earth. His presence endures with us always. In every situation and in every season, God is with us.

Because of the Father, we know love. Because of the Son, we know hope. Because of the Spirit, we have the strength to endure the trials of this life in this broken world. Ultimately, we have peace in knowing that Jesus has defeated the grave, paid the price for our sins, and has opened the door to an unbreakable relationship with the Father that doesn't begin after death but right now.

Satan doesn't get to win. Not now. Not ever. God has made sure of it by sealing our fate with the blood of Jesus Christ. God will walk the earth again. God will dwell with mankind again on the new earth. Even now, God dwells on the earth and walks on the earth through us--His children and His vessels. We are His dwelling place. We are His home. And that is why Satan continues to pursue us so viciously. He seeks to destroy God's home not just His children.

How amazing is it to be a child of God? How amazing is God's love for man that He created us to be His family? That He trusted us to have dominion over the earth and all living things that dwell on it? From the beginning, He trusted us with caring for His home--the earth. And now, we are called to care for His home in a different way. We are called to nurture our spirit and guard our temple because it is He who dwells inside.

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A Note On Hope In Times of Suffering

Through whatever struggle you face, in this season or in the ones to come, remember God is not only with you, He is within you and you will not be shaken. You will not subcummb to suffering. You will not fail because the Lord never fails. And if, like me, you're facing an unthinkable diagnosis and looming loss, there is hope in Jesus.

Jesus is our home, our dwelling place after death. In Him, we are reunited not just with the Lord, but with our loved ones who are also believers. Throughout scripture, we see not only God's desire for relationship with man and His enduring presence, but we see how deeply God values family. It's why He created us.

God understands our love for our family. He understands our desire to be reunited with them. He is the source of that desire.

So, take comfort in knowing that death is not the end of the story. It is not the end of love, joy, or hope. It is the beginning of forever--a forever at peace. Jesus made sure of it.