“Have you ever considered that God has a need? Yes, the almighty, all-powerful God has a need, and this need is central throughout the Bible. Isaiah 66:1 says, ‘Thus says Jehovah, / Heaven is My throne, / And the earth the footstool for My feet. / Where then is the house that you will build for Me, / And where is the place of My rest?’ We may think that God resides in heaven, but that is merely the place of His throne. From that verse, we see that God does not have rest in heaven. Rather, He is seeking a house, the place of His rest.
Yesterday's fellowship night expounded upon this thought in the story of Jacob. As he was fleeing from Esau, Jacob journeyed alone in the wilderness, homeless and seeking rest. He slept on a pillow of stone and God gave him a vision of a ladder. Afterwards, Jacob--despite being homeless and in need--declared that that place was Bethel, the house of God. God brought Jacob into a state of homelessness and unrest in order to show him that God Himself was homeless and without rest! Still today, God is seeking after a house, the place of His rest. And what wonderful news it is that this house is not a physical house but, rather, a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-5, Ephesians 3:17), the genuine church (Matthew 16:18)! May the Lord open our eyes so that we would see this heavenly revelation--to dream what Jacob dreamt--that God has a need and to also share in God's desire for His place of rest in the church.“ — Philip L.
