Be Still - January 27, 2023

Psalm 84: 1, 2, 10 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. . . . Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere. (NIV)

The more we see of what this world has to offer, the more appealing is the Father’s house.*

Where is your favorite place on earth? I have been thinking about my answer to that question. A few locations that first came to mind are beautiful examples of some of God’s best work – but I didn’t have a very strong emotional response to the thoughts of them. Returning there would be pleasant but I don’t long for it.

So where are the places that evoke the best feelings? Summer camp and college were my top two vote-getters . . . but wait. Was it the places that I was nostalgic for – or was it the people and the moments we shared? Do I yearn to return to Faith Christian Camp or am I longing for a revival of the good times I had there? Did the setting play any role in those happy days?

I think it’s safe to assume that as a place to spend eternity, heaven is the prime location. But if it were not the dwelling place of the Lord, what good are its mansions and streets of gold? And if our hearts and our flesh don’t cry out for the living God, how prepared are we to dwell with him? If all we have to look forward to is a life of luxury forever, we have failed to recognize what it is that makes heaven a special place. Our favorite place. Better is one day in the presence of God than thousands anywhere else.

Once you have seen his face you will forever long to see it again.*