April 1, 2024

Psalm 27.4 (NIV)
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

The safety of believers is not in the walls of the temple, but in the God of the temple and their comfort in communion with him.*

Most of us have never had to take refuge in a cave, and most of us have never lived in a palace, so we don’t have David’s perspective on housing. Abiding in God’s house seemed like the best thing on earth to a man of David’s experience, and yet it wasn’t for safety and security that he asked for this one thing.

David gives two reasons for his request - two activities that he wants to perform, both of them acts of worship. First, he wants to behold the Lord’s beauty – and this is a beauty to be observed within one’s spirit as the Lord has no form or face for our eyes to see. His second wish is to seek God in his temple – where he could fellowship and commune with God.

As lovely as it would be, we can’t spend a lot of time “dwelling” in God’s house now – there is work to do. In Luke 10.2, Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest . . . to send out workers.” There’s a song that says, “My house is full but my field is empty.” We can’t get the Lord’s work done if we are sitting around his table, keeping all the blessings for ourselves.

It’s natural for us to be homesick for heaven but Jesus told us to “go” because he does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  (II Peter 3.9)

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