Psalm 84
Here we have a song of what it was like to enter the temple gates and worship the Lord. The anticipation, expectation, and majesty of the event. Of course, this was written at a time when you needed to physically travel to the temple to experience the dwelling place of the presence of God, now WE are the temple through which God’s spirit fills the earth. Have you ever given that much thought? Wherever you go, you carry the presence of the almighty God! What an amazing truth, when you are afraid, when you are overwhelmed, when you are sick, He is there with you. In fact, He is so near us that we often forget, and say things like, “I need to get into the presence of God,” or “I just don’t feel His presence.” My dear brothers and sisters, you carry with you the presence the Psalmist claims, better is one day in your courts, than thousands elsewhere!
Not only are you given His presence but also the gifts of His spirit! We have so many tools available to us to handle whatever we face each day. I encourage you to read and reread Psalm 84 this weekend. Think of what it must have been like to travel and struggle to be in the presence of God. What must the feeling have been like, to come into the temple gates with praise? Then, when you come to church this Sunday, carry with you that same anticipation, not just the presence of God that you carry with you, but the corporate worship of His body, singing fellowshipping and growing in Spirit and in Truth!
Peace,
Nathan Bentley