Week 23: Psalm 84
Psalm 84
Can you think of the last time your soul longed for something so badly, but when you obtained it you were disappointed? Take a moment to think about that time, and journal about it.
Let me now tell you about mine.
I could picture it in my mind. There I was, sitting by the beach, a good book in hand and a delicious coffee in the other one. There was no rush. Nowhere I had to be. No little children (or puppies) that I was responsible for; only the desires of my heart. My heart longed for rest, and I counted down the days until I could board that plane and make this dream come true.
Unfortunately, the day dream was better than reality. After a day away from our home, my soul was unsatisfied, uneasy, and weary.
If you've ever been on a trip, you know how long the trips become. There are the lengthy layovers, and wait lines for coffee at the airport. Never mind the often uncomfortable and foreign beds of a place that is not home. So it was with my trip. The first days of the trip were exciting and fulfilling, but they quickly waned away with the exhaustion of not being home or in my own routine. Quickly, I was confronted with the reality that getaways, as good as they are, will never be able to satisfy the longings of my soul.
If you take a moment to reflect on the answer to my initial question, you will realize that your story often follows the same pattern: there is a need of your soul which you hope to satisfy with someone, something, or somewhere, but it disappoints. It doesn't fulfill its promise, and it leaves you emptier than before.
The world tells us our souls can and will be satisfied by people, things, places, or experiences, that if only you “follow your heart,” the longings of your soul will come true and you will live “happily ever after.” This is far from the truth! There is only One in whom our souls can be satisfied, and only one place where we will find the rest, joy and blessings that our souls desire and so desperately need: the presence of the Lord! This is exactly what the choirmaster sings about in Psalm 84.
Take a moment to read Psalm 84 out loud, and use the Selah reminders to pause and let the truth of the Word of God penetrate your soul.
The choirmaster tells us he has found that the presence of the Lord, His dwelling place, is lovely! So much so, that his soul longs to be there, and when he is, his heart and his flesh sing for joy to the living God!
This is a place of true rest, a place where even the birds find their home, and those who enter it are blessed. Did you notice that? Not only is the dwelling of the Lord lovely, but those who enter it are blessed! The word blessing is overused in our culture, but the Bible uses the word blessed to describe a man or woman who has found favor in the eyes of the Lord! How is that even possible? How can sinful humans find favor in the sight of the Lord and enter His lovely dwelling place?
It's not because of us, but because of the anointed, Jesus Christ (v. 9)! Because of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection, you and I can find favor and enter the presence of the Most Holy! When the choirmaster wrote this Psalm, he relied on rituals and sacrifices for purification to be able to enter once a year to the holiest of holiest places. But because of Jesus' shed blood on the cross, the forgiveness of our sins, and the Holy Spirit, we do not have to wait for this once a year blessing or for a getaway. We can come daily and with confidence to the throne of grace, to the dwelling place of the Lord and indeed sing: “a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” (Ps. 84:10)!
-Fernie
