"I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (Psalm 23:6)
A frustrated mother whose two sons where driving her insane with their behaviour. She had tried everything to keep them in line. One day she had a discussion with a neighbor who said, "I took my son to our priest and he got him straightened out”. Because she didn’t have a better idea, she followed her neighbor’s advice and took her two sons to the local parish priest. The younger boy was left in the waiting room and the older boy was ushered into the presence of the priest. Without so much as introducing himself, the priest stared into the eyes of the frightened boy and began his interrogation with this question: "Where is God?" The boy was speechless. The priest spoke again, "Where is God?" The boy looked away, searching the room as if the answer might be found in the religious items that filled the office. He still did not answer. A little louder and with more emphasis, the priest asked for a third time, "Where is God?" This time, the boy leaped to his feet and ran out of the office. When he came to the waiting room, he grabbed his brother by the hand and pulled him out the door. "Let’s get out of here," he said, "They’ve lost God and they’re trying to pin it on us."
Where can you find the presence of God in our daily routines of life? Sometimes people think that when you work in a church or a Christian organization, you will not have much problems. It is very smooth job, because most people are niece and trust each other. Those who work in the ministry for a number of years, can assure you that’s not the case. Just spending everyday inside the four walls of a church building or being in the Lord’s work doesn’t automatically guarantee you that you will be dealing with all good people or you will feel God’s presence.
God does not reside in a building somewhere. God resides in the spirit of every born-again believer and His sanctuary is any place that they have chosen to set apart. If people do not have Jesus in their hearts, there will not be God's presence. Living in a garage doe not make you a car.
Many years ago the Westminster Catechism (shorter version) was written in order to help teach believers more about God. 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. The first question of that catechism asked, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer given was – “to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” That is to bring God glory and to enjoy fellowship with Him is the reason we exist. The psalms of David are filled with a longing to be in God’s presence, within His house. Even Though they did not have a temple at the time, David longed for a place where he can be with God's presence. “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
It is not just a future hope of a building or temple, or a life after death experience in heaven, it is also a desire to be with God here in this world. He wants to be where God is.
Many find David’s psalms to be inspiring and encouraging; yet what they fail to realize is that most of them were written during times of trouble, loneliness and isolation. The Temple in David's life life did not have stain-glass windows. His worshipped wherever, some in the wilderness. The eastern wall was the sunrise sky and the western wall was the sunset evening sky. The ceiling was as high as the heavens and the carpet underneath was the grass of the fields. Many times David’s altar was a barren rock and his hymnbook contained the songs that came from his heart. Yet with these simple things, David learned how to be with God and to enjoy Him forever.
The sons of Korah, expresses the same desire: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God,” and pronounces, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” (84:1–2, 4). Another psalm, by the sons of Korah, expresses the same desire no less ardently: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God,” and pronounces, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” (84:1–2, 4). According to Psalm 84:10, one day spent worshiping in God’s house is better than a thousand anywhere else. The verse continues: “I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (NLT).
In Psalm 26:8, David declares, “O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” Such longing for life with God in the house of God concludes in Psalm 23: “And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (23:6). In Psalm 23, David sets forth the hope of dwelling with God in a twofold manner.
First, God’s house is portrayed as the journey of sheep and shepherd in this world. Using the shepherding imagery David portrays the Lord as his Shepherd throughout this life. The imagery then changes to that of a becomes host who prepares a table. Then it transforms into eternity where the sheep and shepherd will be forever. For David, then, the hope of dwelling with God in the house of God was a not just in this world, but also with a view of eternity. He sings about the presence of God in the valley of death. The good news of our faith is that God says I love you and and I will be with you. When you have valleys of shadows you have to pass through, in case of a sickness or a broken heart, or loneliness or death or separation, remember, I love you and I will be there to see you through.
Second, God’s house is the eternal home that God’s people look forward to in eternity. The Bible is the book that gives hope after death. In Revelation, John paints a beautiful picture of what heaven will be like. But it’s not really about the place—it’s about the Person we’ll be with. The day is coming when Jesus will come to take us to be with Him in the place He has prepared for us. 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
The Heroes of faith who have gone before us were all filled with that hope of an eternal home. "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13-16).
I believe Psalm 23 is one such example of that faith. We have assurance that we will make if safely home because of the Shepherd’s presence with us. The Shepherd knows the future and He has plans for the future. In the book "Power for living" by Jamie Buckingham (chapter 1) talks about Heather Whiteston McCallum. She was the Miss America 1994. She was also the first Miss America with a disability. When she was 18 months old, she lost her hearing. She could not say her name until she was 10. She loved dancing and ballet. She dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but she could not hear the music. She said, accepting the crown, that she is the happiest person ever, because faith in a God who is with you all the walks of your life changed her perception about life and hearing. She recounted an incident happened prior. In 1991, three years before she won the Miss America pageant, she competed for Miss Deaf Alabama. They disqualified her because of her speaking ability. That pageant left her disappointed and depressed. She said, she prayed that night, "God who am I? Hearing or deaf? Why do I have to be alone all my life?". She felt a reassurance in her heart that The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. My cup now runs over, and I am confident that goodness and mercy shall follow me no matter what happens. My deafness is a blessing from God. She says in closing, " I pray that those of you who doubt Jesus or not happy with your life, open your heart to the good shepherd. He loves you no matter what". “ I know I have plans for you, plans for good and to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ( Jeremiah 29:11).
We all have an important decision to make while living in this world. It is to know the Good Shepherd and to follow Him. In Lewis Carroll’s classic story "Alice in Wonderland", Alice asks the Cheshire Cat, “Which way do I want to go? Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where” says Alice. “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” replied the Cat. If you decide to dwill in the eternal home, then there is only one way to go. That way is Jesus, the good shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 10).
Our Great Shepherd is preparing a place for us. Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:).
In 1985 Anthony Ray Hinton was charged with the murders of two restaurant managers. It was a set up—he’d been miles away when the crimes happened—but he was found guilty and sentenced to death. At the trial, Ray forgave those who lied about him, adding that he still had joy despite this injustice. “After my death, I’m going to heaven,” he said. “Where are you going?”Life on death row was hard for Ray. Prison lights flickered whenever the electric chair was used for others, a grim reminder of what lay ahead. Ray passed a lie detector test but the results were ignored, one of many injustices he faced getting his case reheard. Finally, on Good Friday 2015, Ray’s conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court. He’d been on death row for nearly thirty years. His life is a testament to the reality of God. Because of his faith in Jesus, Ray had a hope beyond his trials (1 Peter 1:3–5) and experienced supernatural joy in the face of injustice (v. 8). “This joy that I have,” Ray said after his release, “they couldn’t ever take that away in prison.” Such joy proved his faith to be genuine (vv. 7–8). Death row joy? That’s hard to fabricate. It points us to a God who exists even though He’s unseen and who’s ready to sustain us in our own ordeals. (Ref: Joy on death row Odb. March 18, 2020).
The shpherd's journey with the sheep continues. To be with The Great Shepherd in eternity is our final destination as children of God. Some are almost there, standing at the very threshold. Others still have a long ways to go. We are not there yet. But some day we will be.
While preaching on Psalm 23, Charles Spurgeon said, “While I am here I will be a child alone with my God; the whole world will be His house to me; and when I ascend unto the upper chamber I shall not change my company, nor even change the house. I shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the Lord forever” (quoted by Campbell, R., Spurgeon’s Daily Treasures in the Psalms: Selections from the Classic Treasury of David, Kregel Publications, 2013, entry for February 19). And the wonderful news is that He says: “Behold, I am coming quickly!” (22:7). “God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”. —Revelation 21:3-4.
There is no doubt, the place—heaven—will be incredible beyond our dreams. But our greatest joy will be the experience of being with Jesus forever!
There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
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