love where God lives

O LORD, I love the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells.

Psalm 26:8

David’s worship of God was so personable that the tabernacle of God was where he felt most at home. His soul was secure, and his life was fully sheltered in the worship of the Lord. He longed to be celebrating the glory of His God. He lived to be living where God lives.

In the Old Testament, both in the tent of meeting, and later in the temple at Zion, God’s presence dwelt visibly and fearfully in the Most Holy Place. This part of the worship space was so sacred that only the High Priest could enter this chamber, and then only once per year on the Day of Atonement when a special sacrifice was offered before the Lord to atone for the entire nation of Israel.

Yet even with all the reverence and mystery around the Most Holy Place, every other part of God’s worship was accessible, and David delighted in the God Who dwelt in Israel, even as He kept His holy presence deeply shrouded in the Most Holy Place. God is both holy and approachable. He is revered and feared, trusted and accessible, and in a nod to C.S. Lewis, both dangerous and good.

Lord God,

Help me to love Your presence as dearly as King David does! No veil hides Your Presence now, as Your Holy Spirit indwells my own life. Believers are each a temple in which Your Spirit now lives. So I may approach You even now, in reverence, awe, and love for the fact that because Jesus is “God with us”, I can live where You live, and You live in me! I am astonished that I would be Your temple too! May I live in worship, glory in Your glory, and honor the sacred Presence of You today!

Amen