But with me you shall be safe

[Ebn Barbara]

King David was fleeing from King Saul who wanted to kill him, and was hiding in the land of Judah, and about four hundred men gathered to him.
Then, King Saul gave order to Doeg the Edomite to kill Ahimelech the son of Ahitub and all the priests of the Lord of his fathers’ house, eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.
Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep –with the edge of the sword. Now one son of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David, and told him all that happened. So David said to him:
“Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.” (1 Samuel 22:23).

In the beginning of this year I felt that King David’s words to Abiathar were meant for each one of us. Not by King David himself, but by the one that is represented by King David, that is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I invite you to receive those words directly from the Lord, and to let them live richly within you, so that you realize from the start of this year, that the Lord wants you to stay with Him, that He doesn’t want you to be afraid, but wants you to know that he who seeks your life seeks also His, but.. He also wants you to know deeply: that with Him you shall be safe!!!

For Satan do not hate you for who you are, and the world do not detest you for who you are..
But Satan hates you because he hates the Lord, and because you are in Christ he hates you, and he wants to hurt you and destroy you, and steal your joy, your peace, your health and money… etc.
However the solution at the start of this New Year is:
To stay permanently with the Lord.. because with Him you shall be safe..
And the Lord Jesus told already His disciples those words that certify what I am telling you:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecute Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:18-20).

Beloved: there is nothing more important than the constant presence of the Lord in your life, and this presence grows and takes roots when you stay permanently with the Lord.

The famous Psalm 91 says:
“He who dwells in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
And the word “dwells” has also the following meanings: lives, stays permanently, i.e. we do not visit the secret places of the Most High from time to time, or when we are in need, but we dwell and stay permanently there, and this is meant in the verse we are meditating in:
Stay with Me.

Asaph the writer of Psalm 73, understood the importance of being with the Lord, that’s why he said:
“Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth I desire besides You… For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish… But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works.” (Psalm 73:23-28).
The key verse: And there is none upon earth I desire besides You..

Asaph realized the importance of the constant presence of God in his life, and the importance of staying continually with the Lord.. and he said: For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish..
When you are far from the Lord, whether it is because of a sin, or because you are attracted to the things in the world, or due to laziness, or feeling content, you will become exposed to the enemy’s attacks and become defenseless.. but when you stay with the Lord, He will say to you:
Do not fear.. for with Me you are safe..
You will have a sense of security, of peace, joy, serenity, good health and healing, fulfillment of your needs, and you can add what you want to this list…
For this reason Asaph said to the Lord: And there is none upon earth I desire besides You..
Because in the Lord there is fullness of things..

David also said in that same context:
“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” (Psalm 27:4-8).

Those are clear words that do not need much explanation..
One thing I have desired of the Lord.. this word has a deep meaning, which is that he doesn’t want another, he didn’t ask for something else, one thing, and he didn’t ask Him a simple question, but he was seeking intensely, that is with passion, persistency and supplication. His request was to stay with the Lord all the days of his life, enjoying His presence and beholding His beauty, realizing that the Lord protects him and hides him in the time of trouble, He also sets him high upon a rock, and lifts his head above his enemies..

Stay with me. Do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.

What about Moses?
The Lord asked him to bring up the people from the land of Egypt, the land of slavery, and He said to Moses:
“[…] ‘See, You said to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.’ So the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’” (Exodus 33:12-17).

Moses spoke boldly and sincerely with God, and told Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” He didn’t want an angel to walk before him, but the Lord Himself, because he knew that without the Lord’s Presence in his life and his people’s life, and without the Lord’s guidance and protection, they will never be able to do anything, or to fulfill the Lord’s plan for them..

And now… as the apostle Paul said:
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected... Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” (Philippians 3:12-13).

Beloved: let’s start this new year following the principle that the apostle Paul adopted.
What bothered you last year and is still bothering you?
Were you threatened by diseases?
Couldn’t you enjoy life as our Lord promised you would?
Disturbed? Anxious? Fearful? Without strength? Sad? Depressed? Defeated? Are your financial matters hindered or bad?
Are your family matters difficult? Are your children far from the Lord or do they have a lukewarm life with the Lord?
Are wars and hardships chasing you?
Do you suffer from losing your spiritual enthusiasm and passion to serve the Lord?
Or is there anything else troubling your life and existence?
Never mind.. Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote the letter to Philippi, his life was coming to an end, and he was saying that he has not attained perfection yet and that he doesn’t know anymore what he desires.. So do not be defeated because the Lord did not give you a spirit of defeat.. rather, forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead.. forget last year and what you went through of disturbing things, and go forward..
Obey the Lord’s request today, and hear Him say to you again:
Stay with Me. Do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.

For the Lord wants you to enter His secret place, the secret place of the Most High, to keep you and protect you, to bind up your wounds and heal you, to cure everything you went through and are going through now, He wants to remove from your life all fear, worry, lukewarmness, and confusion.. everything.. everything that is bothering you and everything that is outside His plans for you.. and He says to you: he who seeks my life seeks your life.. but with me you shall be safe!!!

And now you may ask me: in a practical way, how do I dwell with the Lord?
Very simply, you should continually have fellowship with the Lord, through your daily quiet time with Him, and more specifically with His word, and do not let your fellowship with Him be limited to your daily set quiet time with Him –and this is what we should do– but your fellowship should extend to the whole day, talk to Him on your way, talk to Him at your work place, talk to Him about everything whether it is a small or a big matter, for He created us to enjoy fellowship with us, and He is the one who said: My delight was with the sons of men (Proverbs 8:31), talk to Him about all that goes inside your thoughts and heart, tell Him about your fears and worries, and let Him deal with them, praise His name and thank Him for everything, allow Him to declare His love to you in a new way that will fill your whole being, study the word and meditate in it, and allow the Holy Spirit raise your faith with it, and help you overcome every difficulty that you are facing, and let the fruit of the Holy Spirit and His gifts grow in your life constantly, so you can live a victorious life..
This is how beloved, we dwell with the Lord..

And if you find a certain difficulty at first, do not draw back, rather ask Him to give you the strength and help that you need to finish the journey..
Take hold of this great verse whose results in my life were amazing, when I was trying to walk in God’s ways or to be set free from matters that were bothering me, and it says:
“Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.” (Psalm 5:8).

Let it be your daily prayer, because the enemy will try his best to fight your dwelling with the Lord just as we explained, and because the flesh is weak it will also try to escape and avoid this time, when you decide to walk in complete obedience to the Lord..
However, each time you encounter a resistance from the enemy or the flesh, repeat this verse with a spirit of prayer and faith..
And tell the Lord daily: O Lord, make your way straight before my face..
And you shall see His hand with you, His presence will go before you and He will level off the hills and mountains and make His way straight before you..

To the Lord be all the glory.

[بنت معلم الاجيال]

Thank you

very beautiful