The House of the Lord

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

Question: If you could visit any place, where would it be? I’ve been to about 60 countries and can tell you there are some awesome places on this sphere we call Earth. If you like beaches, you might choose Trunk Bay on St. John’s Island in the Caribbean, or North Shore’s Waimea Bay on O’ahu. If you’re a history fanatic, you might choose Athens, Rome, Jerusalem, Versailles or Berlin. Nature lovers might choose the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Swiss Alps, or Death Valley. For those most adventurous of you, how about an out-of-this-world experience, like a trip to Mars!

When King David pondered this, he had a deeper thought in mind. He would choose to be in “the house of the Lord,” (at that time, a tent Tabernacle) for one day than nearly three years any place else (a thousand days).

No wonder he was a man after God’s heart. He would choose to be with the Lord in the place where people can enjoy God’s special presence, where the human heart is truly satiated. He would rather be a door keeper there than to live in a tent of the ungodly. John Calvin writes, “He would rather be cast into a common and unhonored place, provided he were among the people of God, than exalted to the highest rank of honor among unbelievers.” 

Those who choose worldly things just don’t understand why someone would choose this. Why would anyone want a lowly position with God rather than the prestige of their culture, they ask. The Psalmist responds, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly [Psalm 84:11]. We’re blessed beyond measure [84:12].

Now I’ll ask it again, where in the world would you like to be?

What we do for Christ has eternal value. The last stanza of the famous poem, Only One Life, by Charles Studd says, 

Only one life twill soon be passed, 

Only what’s done for Christ will last. 

The world is alluring, sure, but it is fleeting and will pass away. But God’s household will remain. 

Better a day in Your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God than to live in the tents of wicked people.  Psalm 84:10