URC Daily Devotion Sunday 8 June 2025
Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
As they go through the Bitter Valley
they make it a place of springs
(the autumn rain covers it with blessings).
They walk with ever growing strength,
they will see the God of gods in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer,
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed.
One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
he will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
to those who walk without blame.
Lord, God of hosts,
happy those who trust in you!
Reflection
This passage highlights how safe, secure, happy and content one feels when dwelling in the Lord. It describes animals and people alike enjoying being in the Lord’s presence, and finding a home there.
In thinking about my own feelings about abiding in the Lord, I really feel at my best when resting in HIS presence. At times, I feel lost or confused when I don’t know what to do with regard to a particular situation. At times, I feel worried and nervous about the future, ‘What will happen?’, ‘What should I do?’, ‘Will I do the right thing?’. In my younger days, I would spend time wondering why I was not getting the answers to questions I had and my anxiety would increase as I fixated on the problem.
As I have matured in years, in life experiences and most importantly grown in my faith, I have learned to ‘Be Still’ (Psalm 46:10) and to ‘Trust in the Lord’ (Proverbs 3:5) more than I used to. This helps me to feel confident and believe that my faith is alive.
The passage is also about delighting in worship and enjoying being in a holy space. I reflect on how the act of worship and the elements entailed i.e. the acts of contribution to a service, the nearness to God the quiet space provides, the positivity and the stillness are all in direct contrast to the world around us. These experiences are important because it adds to the peace we feel when we abide in the Lord.
Personally, I feel the busier life gets the more attractive this happy calm place and space becomes more. The real skill to enduring happiness is to create that space within you when you need it; thus whether you go to a physical place or not to worship, you will always have that safe place within you.
Prayer
Father; thank you for giving us you; for giving us peace; for blessing us with holy places. We ask that those who are not able to access such safe places, be they real or internal to us, have the faith that all will be well and that you are with them.. always.
For all your gifts, we thank you and we honour you.
Amen