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

I like to travel and visit new and interesting places or visit some of my old favorites. One of my favorite places to go is NW Washington. It’s beautiful out there; along the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound. I love the seafood and especially seeing friends. And being out on the road can be fun for a while; driving through the mountains, but eventually the traveling and the time away gets old and I begin to long for home. I long for my place of rest and peace.

How lovely is your dwelling place

The psalmist here is longing to go home. He realizes he has been away long enough and is anxiously awaiting the day that he will return to the courts of the Lord. Later in this beautiful Psalm, the author writes, “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.”

We do live in a sinful and wicked world and the heart wired for the Lord longs to return to it’s creator; to dwell in the lovely place of the Lord. Christmas is a time to remember that God has opened the way for his children to return home. And the way home is Jesus. Through faith in Jesus; in his death and resurrection, we can have the hope dwelling in God’s lovely places someday. And when you see your salvation in Jesus, your heart, too, will long and faint for the glory of God and to dwell in his courts forever.

Sing for joy to our living God for He is Good and Awesome!

Have a very Merry Christmas and God bless!

The Pastor -|—