a dwelling place

Psalm 4:9…“As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep, for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling.”

I’m sure you may have seen the ADT commercial on TV where the song “Dream…dream dream dream…” plays in the background while some 30-somehting, handsome dad puts his son to bed, then pushes one button and the heat goes down on the thermostat from 72 degrees to 70, the front door locks and the yard lights turn on. Oh, so peaceful, and secure, for all in the house to feel safe, and dream away—pleasant dream, of course. Peaceful—secure—all at one push of a button. And the dad gives that “OK, now my family is safe-look.” Dwelling secure! Thanks ADT!

In Psalm 4, the writer is not only talking about some divine Sominex, some sleeping pill that lulls one to sleep, but the “in-dwelling” of the person. “In-dwelling?” What is that?–you may ask. This is best described as an “inner dwelling,” the HOME INSIDE YOU that the Good Witch of the South in the 1978 movie, “THE WIZ,” (played by Lina Horne) spoke about…“Home is inside you, child…it is not just a place where you eat or sleep…HOME IS KNOWING…knowing your heart, knowing your mind, knowing your courage…if we know ourselves—we’re always home—-anywhere!”

Does Sominex have on the description label “I fall asleep peacefully” as Psalm 4 does? I don’t know how many times I have closed my eyes to sleep and the troubles of the day have creeped under my eyelids and into my dwelling place—my mind, my heart and my soul—and keep me from having those pleasant dreams, described in the ADT commercial—much less get to sleep withing 2-3 hours!

When I read this quote of Psalm 4 for the first time, just a half hour ago, “security in my dwelling” jumped out at me—and, ironically, so did the ADT commercial. Little did the ADT-proud-to-be-so technologically-advanced dad and his ADT one-push security system know that his supposedly soon-to-be-sleeping son was bullied at school that day for having a funny last name…“Krazinski”…that the boy’s inner dwelling place was NOT secure, he did not get the benefits of the multiple-techno-advanced ADT system’s security because he was SO SO SO bothered by the bullying, the words of sarcasm and the hate stares he had encountered. If only the ADT dad knew that his son was not inner-secure, that his son’s inner dwelling place had been overcome by burglars of self-esteem that day, he may not have been so all-consumed with his fancy shut-the-house-down system and noticed the tension and frown on his boy’s face when he looked at him at dinner. The dad never asked, “How was your day, son?” Not that the humiliated boy would have told his dad that his last name had caused him great grief that day, but at least it would have given him a chance to speak out. When the ADT button was pushed that night, the dwelling (the house) was secure, but much more importantly, the boy’s in-dwelling was not!

You see, the Psalm says, “…for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling (place)”…my inner sense of self, my place of my deepest consciousness. Jesus supplies this “peaceful sleep,” this security of mind, heart and soul that we seem to search for so diligently—and oftentimes so ineffectively. Not only peaceful sleep, but peaceful waking hours and peaceful lives. For me, this HOME, this dwelling place in Christ IS the only way I see to let go of my day and fall asleep—no ADT one-click security in my dwelling place. Funny how these simple words of Psalm 4:9 brought together such a bundle of ideas in my head that I strapped together to create this reading.

But THIS is the miracle of the Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures…they are alive and forth-coming with wisdom and Grace if we only listen, observe and heed the call that they propose in our heart of hearts. I didn’t have to read the words of Psalm 4 today…I had no idea that I would be inspired by such a simple statement of Truth from the Word of God. Yet God reached into my ready-to-listen, observant mind and zapped me with a new promise—that if I only follow Him, truly let go of my ego and selfish intentions, I WILL find that peaceful sleep in my dwelling place…and so much more!

Corsair, April 5, 2021