Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O 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,
O 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,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
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, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah

9 Look upon 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 O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Every verse of Psalm 84 really expresses the psalmist's desire to be in the house of God. He seeks and desires nothing else more.

As I ponder on what it means to be in the house of God, I felt that the Holy Spirit reminding me of two things.

The house of God can refer to Heaven.
We, Christians all know that when we die physically, because of what Jesus did at the cross, we are able to enter heaven (our real home which will last forever). He has prepared a place for every single one of us - read John 14:1-4. In heaven, we will be able to perfect and sin-less lives, in the presence of the Lord. We will be worshipping Him 24/7.

However, many of us forgot that we're only aliens to earth (temporal). We tend to love the things of the world more than God. The Bible describes that the people belonging to the hall of fame (Abraham, Noah and others) admitting that they were aliens and strangers on earth. They longed for a better country - a heavenly one. Read Hebrews 11:13-16.


The house of God can also refer to our Bodies.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19, it is said that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The presence of God goes with us. Jesus lives in our hearts.

When we're close to God, we can feel His presence strongly in us every single moment of our lives - not just when we are in church. We can talk to Him, complain to Him, give praises to Him, seek refuge in Him, seek counsel from Him, receive His peace, etc. It is wonderful! And we don't have to wait until we go heaven to experience all this.

In order to reach this level of closeness with God, we must be disciplined in spending time with Him. That is why the church's focus now is Intimacy with God. Reading a psalm a day, praying for an hour, fasting meals, electronic games, etc.


Personally, I've been truly blessed this few months. I feel very much closer to God than in the past. Lord, help me to continue to desire for Your presence!


Things to ponder
1. How has the past 3 months been for you in terms of intimacy with God? Rate it from 1 to 10.
2. Why do you give that rating?
3. What is something you can do to grow even closer to God?
4. Pray for yourself to continue having the desire to be close to God.