view from the valley

“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.”

Ps. 84:10-11

Ben is teaching on this passage this week at Deer Valley. We were discussing its significance. If you could have 1,000 days to do whatever you wanted, would you really rather spend just one day in the presence of God?

Our concept of You is so small. Our experience of You is so limited. Yet these things are our own fault. You long to reveal Yourself to us; You do so in thousands of ways, all day long, every day. You long for us to experience You; You call us to Yourself over and over. We are so busy with our little lives, letting the weight of the world eat up our moments, walking hunched with our eyes fixed on the ground in front of us. Just get through the day. Just finish this project. Just get the kids to bed. Just get the house clean. When I finish these things, then Lord…

Yet the psalmist knew the joy of You. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God…

My God. He had tasted you, and he wanted more. “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (v. 1).

Yesterday I met with Debbie D., a woman who radiates Your peace and presence. She is becoming a sort of mentor to me. She reminded me again that the most important thing is time with You. The way she spoke of You, as if she talks to You all day long and listens to You even more (she does)—I know this can only come from time at Your feet, dwelling in Your courts.

“Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.”

Ps. 84: 4-8

I love the word pilgrimage. I love that this life is a sacred journey whose end is Your presence. Every step matters. You didn’t promise I wouldn’t go through the Valley of Weeping, but You did promise to (eventually) make it a spring. You did promise to take me from strength to strength. And best of all, You promised that one day I will appear before You. You are my sun and shield. You give me grace and glory. You give me all good things. I need to spend a day on each of these thoughts, drinking them in and understanding.

Oh Abba, we know so little of You. You long to do so much. Teach me what it all means. Draw me further up and further in. Let me know You.

The psalmist ends this way:

“O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (v. 12)

Learning that complete trust, the trust that brings peace and rest, comes from dwelling in Your courts. As always, I think of Abby. That was her secret, and it radiated from her as it does from Debbie. She dwelt in Your courts; she didn’t just visit. Oh, she knew the secret of her Abba’s love, and she reveled in it. She had so much joy to share, so much love to give, because she gave herself to YOU first.

I’ve been catching glimpses of that glory, but I don’t want the trickle, I want the waterfall. Let it begin today. Let me dwell with You today. I trust You to carve out the time for me to sit at Your feet each day. Help me to see and to seize those moments.

“O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.” (vv. 8-9)