Strength to Dwell
As I prepared this morning to turn to the scripture my devotion had outlined for me, along the way I saw writing in my bible, and it made me stop. I very rarely write in my bible. It’s pretty important to me that I don’t, actually. So, when I see writing, I KNOW it’s important. And, this particular writing was in hot pink ink~ WOAH I thought. Slow down and READ! Yes indeed…God had a word for me.
Psalm 84:4-12
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising you. Selah Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on a pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord of God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah O God, behold our shield, And look upon the face of You’re anointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
I want to pause just a few minutes to share a few things that God is speaking to me through this text~ if not for you~ than maybe for me, because I learn through writing. First, the word Blessed is used 3 times to describe what awaits those who DWELL in God; whose strength is in God; who trust in God! While we are given 12 commandments, here we are given a simple math problem, or perhaps one of logic…If, then…If we can simply dwell in God…then we are blessed. If we can draw our strength from God, then we are BLESSED…If we can place our trust in God, and leave it there, THEN. WE. ARE. BLESSED!
The sons of Korah go on to describe a pilgrimage through a dry and barren valley, on the journey to worship. We can turn our darkest, driest valley’s into valleys of JOY when our strength is in the Father; when our eyes are fixed on the Word of God, and his promises, and our time is spent in worship, and not in worry. And the reward is to go from strength to strength. If you’ve ever looked at someone whose burden is heavy, but they appear to carry it, without falter, don’t ever be confused and think they’re not conscious of the burdens, or that the burdens aren’t as heavy as they look~ there are likely ten more that you cannot even see. But when our eyes are fixed on the burden fixer, we know that we were never designed to carry them anyway~ so we move from strength to strength and avoid the falter of the roller coasters that this life wants us to be on that will cause us to take our eyes off of God!
The sons of Korah remind us that it is better to have just a day, to serve in the House of God, protecting God’s anointed leaders, than to serve in wickedness. In this season, we must avoid the temptation of confusion, prioritizing our earthly goals and rewards, over our God given assignments. God forgive me for neglecting my assignment!!
And yet, we THANK GOD for his grace!!! And yet another math problem--- as we walk uprightly, He will not withhold one good thing. As we rise this morning, with breath in our lungs, the capacity to say thank you Lord, a sound mind to worship~ we have another opportunity to align our hearts and minds with the Word and to be fully used by Him as He dwells in us, and we in Him. What a blessing!
