Psalm 84:1-12 (NIV)
1How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD Almighty!
2My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3Even 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.
4Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
5Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10Better 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.
11For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12LORD Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Reflection
What’s the good life? What are the times we never want to end? The Psalmist is speaking of the best days in his life, the days when he is close to God, when praise and thanksgiving flow so easily from his lips. “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” he declares. That’s the good life, to be in the house of the Lord, or in His presence, knowing that He is close. But that reality of God’s presence can extend to every area of our experience and so even a wilderness called Baka (or ‘weeping’) can become a place of life. Wilderness times can be part of the good life. In difficult times we can be called blessed as God carries us, taking us from strength to strength.
Responding to the Transmission
God’s presence in our lives is how we get to pass through every wilderness in our lives. As the Psalmist directs us, let’s put our trust in Him who will not leave us lost or dead. Let’s join in and declare that our desire is to know His presence with us so that wilderness times would be times of life and hope. Step by step, we depend on his faithfulness. That’s living ‘Wildernessly’…a life divinely lived.