Life-long Residence

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

If you are looking for a place to rest your soul, look no further than the House of God. David knew that was true. Listen to the longing of his heart when he wrote, “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. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock” [Psalm 27:4-5].

My heart longs for many things, how about yours? If you could ask God for one thing, what would it be? I doubt seriously that my “one thing” would be what David asked for—life-long residence in the House of God! Perhaps that’s one of the reasons it was said of him that he was a man of God’s own heart [see 1 Samuel 13:14]. 

David, unlike me, wanted to live in the House of the Lord. Let’s “flesh that out a little bit,” a phrase one of my Bible College professors was fond of saying. David wasn’t interested in merely having an afternoon chat or evening meal in the Sanctuary. His desire wasn’t for an over-nighter or a weekender. He didn’t want a temporary room to rent. He wanted to move in—life-long residence. 

An old hymn from 1903 says it well…

There is a place of quiet rest,

  Near to the heart of God,

A place where sin cannot molest,

  Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,

  Near to the heart of God,

A place where we our Savior meet,

  Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,

  Near to the heart of God,

A place where all is joy and peace,

  Near to the heart of God.

[Near to the Heart of God, Words & Music: Cle­land B. Mc­A­fee, 1903]

I love your sanctuary, LORD, the place where your glorious presence dwells. Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the LORD. Psalm 26:8-12