Longing for God - Psalm 84

Have you fallen in love with God? Do you long for Him like some "mooney-eyed" junior high boy longs for that cute cheerleader? Do you want to be in His presence all the time? The good news is, you can! In Psalm 37, we read, "Delight yourselves also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." What does He give you? The desires of your heart. But what is it you desired? The Lord! He is your delight. Therefore, God give you Himself. He gives you His presence - His fellowship.

So delight yourself in Him. Let Jesus be the longing of your heart. Long not just for what he can do for you, but for Him. Long for His sweet fellowship. That is exactly what we see in Psalm 84 with this gatekeeper at the tabernacle. He longed to spend more time with God.

Then the gatekeeper looked up and saw the sparrows flying around inside the tabernacle. Maybe they were carrying around bits of grass or string to make a nest in there. But it causes the gatekeeper to respond in Psalm 84:3: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."
Have you ever tried to keep sparrows out of a barn? They love to get into buildings to fly around and to nest. When we go into Sam's Club or Wal-Mart, there are sparrows flying around inside all the time. Our kids think it is kind of neat (better than the bats), but they both can leave the same klind of mess. Those sparrows and swallows got inside the tabernacle too and built their nests. Yes, they built their nests right there inside the tabernacle, even on the altars. And this gatekeeper is jealous. He envies the sparrows. Why? He wants to be, like them, all the time with God. He doesn't want his shift to end and have to go home for the night.

I can relate to that with my fiancee (Now my wife of 35 years). I remember when we were courting. we wanted to see each other every day, all day long. We wanted to be together as much as was possible. I hated to go home at night and leave her behind at her parents house. That was one of the biggest motivations for my wanting to get married. I didn't want to have to leave her at night.

That's the longing the Psalmist had for God. He got to go to the tabernacle each day to work as a gatekeeper. But every night, he would have to go home to get his supper and to sleep in his own bed. And that upset him. He wanted to stay in God's presence all the time. So, he was jealous of the sparrows. "Why do I have to go home, and these sparrows get to live here? Boy, those sparrows are lucky!"

But guess what? We are lucky too (Bad choice of words, I know). You don't get to move in with God - not yet! not until heaven. But God has moved in with you (If you are born-again). His Spirit has indwelt your life. You never have to be apart from His presence again. You never have to break off your fellowship with Him. NEVER! If your fellowship is broken, it is because you want it that way. It is because your heart doesn't long for that sweet relationship with God.

My friend, is God your Lord and your King? Is He really? Do you love Him as your Heavenly Father? Then you can bask in His presence every moment of every day. Praise God!