Day 21 - Psalm 84
Whenever I have to travel for work, my family misses me (so I’m told). They miss my voice, my hugs, my presence. When I get back, me being back is simply that, me being back, often without fanfare, but me being back gives a confidence and a security that everything is good. We are how we are supposed to be when we are in each other’s presence.
In Psalm 84, the author clearly knows what it means to be in the presence of God. He says ‘I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul.’ (v2 NLT). In the Message Translation, it says that he has ‘always longed to live in a place like this’ (v2) and how ‘birds … sparrows and swallows make nests there … how blessed they are to live and sing there [in God’s house]’ (v3-4).
Psalm 22 v3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people – what a statement, what a truth. We can encounter God, we can encounter His presence in the praises of His people, our brothers & sisters in Christ. There are lots of reasons for being at church, being rooted and planted, attending regularly and making it a priority, but this alone should be up there!
In v10, the author underlines how much it means; ‘a single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.’ He is very clear that luxury living, but in wickedness means nothing to him, he would rather serve, humbly, in God’s house.
Charles Spurgeon puts it this way “To bear burdens and open doors for the Lord is more honour than to reign among the wicked. Every man has his choice, and this is ours. God’s worst is better than the devil’s best.” Think about that for a minute …
This Psalm ends saying that God gives us grace and glory. It is for us to receive, God is the greatest giver of all, and also a great forgiver. He gives us grace and glory, without price, without us taking any merit for it. What grace, what love!
Think it over / Meditate on:
Write down and pray about three things you can do, which can help you be more prepared?
Take a minute to pray and thank God for His grace, for sending His son to die for you, that you might live in eternity, in His presence, in His house.
Tim
Tim Croxson, Senior Leader