Ephesians 3:17-18

17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 

18. May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Without doubt we need the Lord as never before. Let us seek him while he may be found.

Let’s us stand on/in faith; and not sink to or give in to fear. Fear kills, faith brings life.

God bless us all.

Psalms 16:11
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy;  at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

We serve an awesome God. He is so faithful to us that he takes the time to direct us in the way we should go. 

The Path of Life can be seen as a way or track laid down for walking or made by continual treading. It is the way many have walked before you. A way many will walk after you. It leads successfully to the place when God needs us to be. It leads us to a special place in him. A life that should be lived in him. Why? Because in his presence is where we will find everything we need to be successful in life.

Fulness (fullness) by definition as the state of being filled to capacity. 

Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. synonyms: delight, great pleasure, joyfulness, jubilation, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, gladness, glee, exhilaration, exuberance, elation, euphoria, bliss, ecstasy, rapture.

So the fulness of joy talked about here is being filled the capacity with all that joy encompasses.

This is not to say that we will never experience sadness, or sorrow, mourning, grief, upset, or any of the multitude of feelings that life will throw at us. What it does mean is that none of these feelings should inhabit us. Or be able to reach so deep inside of us that it alters the way we think, perceive, believe, live or even worship God.

How can they when we are already filled with joy?

As the children of the most high God, we should be able to successfully navigate these (negative) feelings without allowing them to defeat us. Or allowing them to stay so long with us that we forget who we are, and whose we are.

The fulness of joy should kick, and keep us from the despair that negative emotions will bring.

What I like to think of as the bonus – sticking with God (remaining in him) gives us access to pleasures defines as a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment – forever.

The right hand of God is viewed as his place of power. Because of his power there is a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. 

It is an awesome feeling to know how much God loves us. All we have to do is choose to study the scriptures to find out all that God desires to give us. Then make the choice to walk in them.

God will show us the path of life. We have to decide to walk that path.

Acts 17:28

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

It amazes and frustrates me that I ever was of the mind set that my life was my own, that it was a choice to spend time with God. This would be done of course on Sunday’s at church, and during my private devotional times. I have come to realize through study of scriptures that this is erroneous thinking. It has always been God’s will to be In dwelling with his people, individually and collectively. 

We are to be In Him even as he is in us. Considered Acts 17:28, our lives are to be lived in him. Doing so does not diminish us or halt the things we wish to accomplish in and with our lives. In reality, living in him, enhances, and shows us a better way to achieve and excel. 

We have to stop viewing our relation with God as a revolving door, where we enter and exit at will. We are to enter and remain. 

So many times we set out on our own to conquer and achieve, and once we are on our way we pray for God’s blessings and covering. We should, indeed, do these things, but the prayer for God’s blessings and covering should occur first, then we move by faith, as he leads. This is apart of the benefits of living a life in him. Doing this also provides us more successes, not less.

To live, is to remain alive, and make ones home in a particular place.

To move, is to go in a specific direction, to change from on state, opinion, sphere, or activity to another.

To have my being, is to be a living thing. Or to do the activities of life.

It is wonderful to know that all of this can and should be accomplished in God. But we must understand that is does (and always has) caused separation from God. We cannot live a sinful life and believe that we do this in him. Gos is sinless, and does not dabble in it, at all. We are to strive to be the same. We must live a repented life. Yes we will make mistakes, and occasionally sin. But we must repent quickly (daily), and move on to the Glory of God.

Psalms 91:1b – 21b. “shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

2. “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:

my God; in him will I trust.”

After understanding that to be In Him (according to Psalms 91:1a), means – He that “sit down” in the “secret of his presence to enjoy intimate communication” of “the Supreme – God over all, higher than the highest of angels or me.” 

We then move a little deeper. Looking at the second part of Psalms 91:1, we understand how to move forward “In Him.”

Definitions:

Shall – expressing a strong assertion or intention – a future tense.

To correctly use “shall,” confine it to the meaning “has a duty to” and use it to impose a duty on a capable actor.

Abide – accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation).

“I said I would abide by their decision”

synonyms:

comply with, obey, observe, follow, keep to, hold to, conform to, adhere to, stick to, stand by, act in accordance with, uphold, heed, accept, go along with, acknowledge, respect, defer to

“he expected everybody to abide by the rules”

antonyms:

flout, disobey

Under – controlled, managed, or governed by.

Shadow – a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface. synonyms: silhouette, outline, shape, contour, profile

The Almighty in scripture – Christ, the Son of God, is sometimes compared to the shadow of a rock, or tree, which screens and shelters from heat; as he preserves his people from the heat of a fiery law, the flaming sword of justice, the wrath of God, the fiery darts of Satan, and the fury of persecutors: under this shadow do they abide or lodge all night, safe and secure, as the word signifies: the Targum calls this shadow the shadow of the clouds of glory; the Arabic version, “the shadow of the God of heaven.”

Psalms 91:1b – can also be understood as:

“has a duty to” comply with, obey, observe, follow” being “controlled, managed, or governed by” “the silhouette outline, shape” of “Christ, the Son of God.”

Paul said it best in Philemon 1:1 and 1:9, that he was a Prisoner of Jesus Christ. This does not mean Paul was being punished for misdeeds, but that He was sold out to God to the point where he was no longer his own. He belonged to God, and was willing to do what God willed.

Now, looking at Psalms 91:2…

Definitions:

Refuge – a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. Something providing shelter.

Fortress – a heavily protected and impenetrable building. figurative. a person or thing not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance.

Trust – firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Once we, as the people of God, find ourselves “In Him”, and agree to allow God to manage our lives, we are able to take advantage of the divine protection that only God can provide. This is key – we must allow God to lead, and direct us in every aspect of our lives. To do less is not holding up our end of the bargain. It also prohibits us from receiving the benefits that come with being found In Him. 

Understand that you cannot be In Him and constantly walk in disobedience, or rebellion at the same time. If you are going to do things your own way, you have stepped outside of God.

When we allow God to have control, God becomes our shelter, the impenetrable building in which we live. We can stand firm on his reliability, his truth, his ability, and his strength.

We (and everything which concerns us) are safe because God, our fortress, is not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance. He insulates us. But we must stay, dwell In Him, to enjoy this protection. If we step outside of him, we leave this divine protection, and open ourselves up to all kinds of evil influences.

To be clear, we are always targets of the enemy. However, being In Him we have protection from the wiles of the enemy. To be outside of him is to live a life without his protection.