08/27/2021
David wrote and sang often in his psalms about living in the house of the Lord, and we realize that this was his great desire. Now as Christians our body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the reality of God residing with us is more than David’s hope, or a distant dream… it is reality. To the Christian the question becomes this; do we long to live in God’s house (our bodies) with Him as David did, or do we treat Him like a guest that we love to see come, but whose leaving is a relief to us?
“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 ESV
We know through scriptural references that God dwells in Jesus, and that Jesus resides in us… thus bringing God into us with His arrival. We also know that our bodies are now the the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that we have been declared to be the royal priesthood. In light of these scriptural revelations we should read David’s words as more than his longing, but as a desire that has come to fruition in us… that has blossomed and is now ripe within us. Now when we read the closing verse of the 23rd Psalm we hear more than David’s hope… we read how God has made this real in us. David’s prayer has been answered.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:6 ESV
David was a warrior, but he was so much more than that. He served God, He sinned and yet sought God’s forgiveness, he was a man after God’s own heart, he was a leader, songwriter, a singer, a musician, and a poet, a visionary that foresaw the construction of the temple. He prayed, and humbled himself before God. Yes, David was a complex man that was like a magnifying glass, he brought all he was and each of his many gifts to bear on a single point… and in this way he kindled a burning relationship with God.
“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”
Psalm 84:4 ESV
We too are complex creations. God has endowed each of us with gifts, and led us to His Son Jesus so that by the New Covenant we are redeemed, and made ready for Him to abide in us. If we believe then the question isn’t whether we are God’s temple, or whether He abides in us through Christ, but how much effort we put into focusing all our God given gifts, and all we are, onto that single point which is our relationship with Him. Do we welcome Him as if He were a house guest, that we love to see come, but only for a few days at a time, or is He our ever present God, and King? Do we want to experience Him in glimpsesl, or desire for Him to live in us forever? Let’sask ourselves one final question… Do we long for Him as David did, and in this way have we become filled with the FULLNESS of God?
“and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:19 ESV
These are the questions we need to look inside ourselves and seek the answers to as we are praying about them with the help of the Holy Spirit, using Jesus as our standard, and asking God to help us with. All of divinity being resident within us.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and for calling us to Him. Thank you for opening our hearts to Him, and leading us to accept Him as our Savior and Redeemer. Thank you Lord for coming to abide within us through Christ, and for your Holy Spirit who joins you here in your temple… our bodies. Help us Father to lean on you, and desire to be with you all the days of our lives. Let our prayers be offered without ceasing, and our focus to always be on you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves, and desires us always. Call us men and women after your own heart Lord. Praised be your name for making our bodies your temple, and our relationship with you to be complete, even as you are one with us in Jesus. Merciful are you Holy Father, and amazing is your grace that saves us in the absence of our ability to save ourselves. Look into our hearts Father, and see that we are like David… desiring to live in your house forever; then open our eyes to find that we are in your presence even now, that our body has become yours, and the hopes and dreams of David have been made real in us.
“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
Psalm 84:10 ESV
Rich Forbes