The House of God
“I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”
—Psalms 61:4 NIV
There is a place of safety found in the presence of God. What wonderful protection is found when we can live under the wings of grace—where all we can see is the shadow of God’s covering.
Yet we should not grow comfortably complacent and take the security of God’s house for granted. Satan tempts the idle and careless by calling us away from the tent of God. His words speak to the heart that is bored and unsatisfied with God. Those who listen to his words find themselves believing that God’s house is nothing more than a prison.
He claims that the protection of God is only for those who are too weak to help themselves. He offers a strategy of self-reliance and a plan for self-made independence. The enemy fiercely downplays the significance of God’s covering, making it seem like a last resort for those with no better option.
The psalmist takes it further in Psalm 73, confessing that from all available data, it seems humans are better off pursuing evil! Psalms 73:3-5 NIVsays, “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.”
Have you ever been there? Has it ever seemed like you’d be better off ditching your vows to God so you could at least join in the rewards of self-centeredness? The apostle Paul seemed to agree. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Eventually, the façade fades. The curtain falls. The gleam of sin grows dull. Ultimately, sin stops paying you and turns to demand that you settle your debt—a debt you can never repay. Suddenly, you long for the house of God. Despite the pain of such a revelation, this moment of self-consciousness is often the most significant evidence of God’s grace in our lives. We realize that no amount of self-gained earthy treasure comes close to comparing with the glory of God’s house.
If we turn back to Psalm 73, we see that the author experiences doubt and even exasperation about the benefits of godliness until a crucial moment when he enters the house of God. When we live outside God’s house, we have a distorted view of the truth. When we come into God’s house, we immediately recognize the worth of God.
There, we can declare the words of Psalms 73:25-26 NIV, saying, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Living a life toggling back and forth between intense doubt and trust is no good. What good comes from jumping in and out of the presence of God? David longed for the house of God in Psalm 61 and throughout the Psalms. He prays in the desert, cave, wilderness, and battle that God would bring him back to the house of the Lord. Yet we live today only a thought away from the presence of God. We have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit living within us. We have Jesus knocking at the door of our hearts.
The psalmists had to find solace in the house of God. At best, they could step into the tent of God. Otherwise, they could only remember and long for such worship.
We need only to turn to God in prayer. The believer can pray these psalms and enter into glorious communion in a moment. When Christ died on the cross, the presence of God broke out of the most holy place. When the Spirit fell like fire on Pentecost, all believers received the glory of God within.
Remember today that the refuge of God’s house is the presence of God in us, around us, and working through us. Draw near to the presence of God today.
