DAY 259 - I Wish I Were …

--> Psalm 84:1-10 (NRSV)  How lovely is your dwelling place, 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, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. ⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. ⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 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.

Do you have a place that is the epitome of peace, beauty, calm and relaxation? Some place that you dream about when life is hard and hectic? The Psalmist had such a place and his longings were running strong. Perhaps he was in exile and unable to return to Jerusalem. He may have been an early prodigal who had cut himself off from the worshiping ways of his parents and now longs to return but fears that his wayward life has taken him too far from the roots of his religion.

The Psalmist longed to be in those surrounding that reminded him of God’s majestic power and providential care; to experience the specialness of being favored by God; to receive that spirit of hope and newness that the sacrifices gave. In the midst of his longing the Psalmist also dimly realizes that it is not just a building or place that he longs to be. Rather, it is to be with the One whom he met in that place, to have a sense of coming home to God Himself.

And so the Psalmist shifts his sights from being in the Temple to the joy of even traveling to the Temple. When the people traveled through the dry, desolate region of Baca, their joy of the trip seemed to change the desert to an Oasis. They not only survived the hard trip, but thrived in spirit because of their goal. A new step has been taken in the Psalmist’s quest. He did not have to be in the Temple itself to have his longing fulfilled. Even in the valley of Baca he could still sense the presence, power, and goodness of God who was like the sun dispelling gloom and like a shield giving protection.

Then the light comes on - the deep longing of the Psalmist’s heart can be satisfied before he gets to the Temple; it can be satisfied even before he begins a journey to Jerusalem. The longing is satisfied by the trust he has already found at the Temple; by the trust he experiences on the journey.

Here is the magnificent wisdom that the Psalmist gives: no longing can be fully satisfied without the foundation of trust in God. He would rather live in trust and do without than dwell in a place with all longing met in rebellion against God. The trust that the Psalmist has found is not simply an environment where everything happens to please him. This trust is a soil in which grows his desire to give obedience to God.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope July 13, 1986

© Rhonda H. Mitchell