God’s Dwelling Place
8 min read
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.12 LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
— Psalm 84
A short snippet of this psalm could not do it justice.
I have to ask myself, does my soul yearn and faint to be in God’s dwelling place—to be in His presence? Does my heart and flesh cry out in praise of God. Do I long to be like the sparrows that can build their nests in the house of God and sing praise to Him all day long.
What lengths would I go to to visit God, to be in His presence and worship Him? Does the mere thought of being in His presence give me strength to seek Him?
May the LORD see how I long to be in His presence in His heavenly kingdom and to worship Him forever. May the very thought of it help me to persevere through the challenges and difficulties of this life. May He withhold no good blessing from me, because He has mad me blameless through faith in His anointed One, Jesus Christ.
Father, Thank You for calling me into Your presence. May I lift up a sacrifice of praise to You—the fruit of lips that continually praise You name. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
