How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even 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.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
Better 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.
For 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.
LORD Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Written by the Sons of Korah, a group of Levite musicians, Psalm 84 is a beautiful expression of longing for God's presence and the joy of dwelling in his house. The psalmist compares his longing with sparrows or swallows who seek a home near God's altar.

In our busy and often chaotic lives, don't we long for a place to take refuge and find rest and nourishment for our souls? Where can we find this? Only in the house of God. However, what used to be a physical location for the people of Israel is now in the person of Christ.

Meeting a Samaritan woman by a well one day, Jesus told her: "Woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:21,23-24).

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus established a new way of approaching God, where true worship happened in the realm of the spirit and truth. Worship would not be confined to a physical location of ritualistic practices but would be rooted in genuine devotion and truth. In John 2:19-21, Jesus referred to his own body as the temple that would become the ultimate dwelling place of God among humanity.

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul reminds us that our bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit, where God dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19). This new reality allows us to experience an intimate and continuous connection with God, not confined to a physical structure but present wherever we are. Jesus has made it easier than ever, so what are we waiting for? Let us dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God bless you.