I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)
I used to hear this verse much differently than I do now. My grandmother was a nationally appointed Evangelist with the Church of God in Christ and as a little boy, I used to travel with her when she held revivals in various places.
During these revivals, we had church every night, and the services started at 6pm and didn’t end till the cows came home. We frequently left the building after midnight!
For a little boy of 7 or 8 years old, sitting in church every night for six hours or more can seem interminable. So when a deacon read verses like, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, the first thing I would think is, O Lord, we are never getting out of this service! What I heard was, I will dwell in Peaceful Holiness Church forever!
Those church services seemed to go on forever! I mean forever! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy them. In fact, I look back on those revival services with great joy. After all, it was in one of those revival services in Honolulu, Hawaii that I received my calling to the ministry! God spoke to me so clearly that night and I knew, at 11 years of age, that I would preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. And my grandmother was so excited to hear that I had received my call to the ministry in one of her meetings that she put me up to preach the next night!
But I would come to realize that the house of the Lord and the church building are two different things. Dwelling in the house of the Lord does not mean having longer and longer church services. Dwelling in the house of the Lord means living in God’s presence. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. He is everywhere! Dwelling in his house means living in his presence.
Since he is everywhere, would it not follow that everyone is already dwelling in his house? In a sense, yes. In him we live, and move, and have our being. But in another sense, no. The great irony is that while he is with every being in the universe, most of us live outside of his house. The difference between living in his house and outside of his house simply comes down to whether or not we are willing to acknowledge him.
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. (Psalm 89:15-16)
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. In order to dwell in the house of the Lord, I’ve got to learn how to acclaim him so that I can walk in the light of his presence. I will learn, so that I may dwell. And as I learn, I will dwell.
Share your thoughts:
How often do you actually acknowledge him throughout your day? Are you consciously determining to dwelling in God’s house on a daily basis?
