Episode #11: Psalm 84 – The LKN Faith Podcast
Est. Reading Time: 3 minutes
An old joke moralizes that you should never ask a man if he is from Texas, for if he is, he will tell you so himself, and if he is not, there is no need to embarrass him. Something similar may be true of retirement. You need never ask someone if he is retired, for if he is, he will likely tell you so himself, and if he is not, there is no need to remind him.
Men and women who are nearing retirement like to talk about all the things they plan to do in their retirement. Grandchildren, fishing, golf, or travel may be on their mind. They just cannot wait to have the time to do the things they would like to do. School children usually get summer fever when there are a few weeks of school left. They just cannot wait until the summer holiday when they will have time to spend and the freedom to spend it how they choose.
What do you want to do with your time?
I love the words from Psalm 84:10–11. It says, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
These verses remind us that where we spend our time is more important than any self-satisfaction we may derive from personal pursuits. In a world where status is coveted, we ought to intentionally step away from the noise occasionally to be still and to consider the fact that a day in the courts of God is better than a thousand—a thousand anywhere else, spent anyhow else. And to be a doorkeeper—the lowest of the low among His servants—is to be desired above the highest honor among the tents of wickedness.
Where would you rather be? How would you rather spend your time? Can you say with the Psalmist you would rather be a servant in His house? Hundreds of years after this Psalm was penned the Messiah would come to the Jews and direct their minds to a similar reality: what does it profit a man to have everything in the world if it costs him his soul? If he loses his soul, what could he possibly give to buy it back?
How do you spend your time? Where do you spend your time? Let us not spend our time among the tents of wickedness. Today, let us commit to spend our time wisely, to live in His presence, and to come into his courts in prayer. As we do that, we can rest in his promise that he will not withhold any good thing.
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