Psalm 84

84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

As I am writing this, it is raining this morning and I feel refreshed. Just sitting with God in his home, makes our soul feel new. There are few moments that we experience that in this life, but when we do it is sweet.

I was in need of change with the Psalms. All this defeating my enemies and God being silent were getting to me. It is as if there had to be a hunger placed in my soul so that I can feast upon all that God has to offer.

He takes care of the most lowly. The birds he gives young to, and we join with them in thankful song. There is a deep strength that comes from that relationship. Strength that can handle the darkest of moments, allow us to love people who are unlovable, and deny ourselves even when we have been wronged (as I write that I am convicted of how I have already not follow through on that one this morning).

We get to go to the springs of God. There we have our thirst satisfied, but also we get to take a bath and swim. We are made clean and it is a place of joy. The great picture I have is from Lord of the Rings where Golumn (spelling) is catching fish in the waterfall and pounching around as a friend of the Hobbits. We have that same turn around and freedom.

Yet unlike in the movie where that moment of vulnerability bites him in the ass. God protects us. He is our shield. Being with him is better than any other place that we can be. He is our sustainer and protector. "No good think does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."