Desiring God

You want to be happy. In fact, the deepest longing of your heart is to find happiness. Ask someone if they want to be happy, 99% of the time they will look at you funny, because it’s the answer is obvious.  Of course, you want to be happy.  Who doesn’t? This goes quite well with what philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote about our pursuit of happiness. He wrote this, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object.  This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”

You want to be happy.  You were made this way.  God made you this way.  And if you believe this to be true, then it’s not a stretch to say that you were created to find your deepest and lasting happiness in a relationship with the God who created you.

In other words, your heart was made to find happiness, not with the pleasures God created for you – but with God Himself. So, then, if you want to be happy, let me encourage you to open your Bible to Psalm 84, where the psalmist reveals for us three ways our hearts look to find happiness in God. And the first way is this:

Happy is the heart that longs for God He writes: How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Psalm 84:1-4 There’s a couple of things I want you to notice from the beginning of this psalm.  First, this is not a psalm of David.  One of the sons of Korah wrote this psalm.  We are not told his name.  But one of the things we see in verse 10, is that the sons of Korah served in the Temple as doorkeepers.  They were the servants who ushered Gods’ people into the presence of God.

Secondly, this son of Korah loved what he got to do.  He’s the one who begins this psalm by declaring, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts.”  When he says, this, he’s not talking about the beautiful architecture or ornate furnishings that set the temple apart as a sacred place. No, he wants us to know that it is God’s presence that’s beautiful.  It is the Lord of Hosts that makes the temple a beautiful place.

Thirdly, this son of Korah reveals his joy that he gets to worship in the presence of His God. He declares, My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. There it is: He doesn’t just enjoy being a doorkeeper, he longs for and even faints for the courts of the LORD. Why?  So, his heart can express it’s delight in God.  He can’t wait to sing praise to his God.  For to praise God will complete his happiness.  It’s what C.S. Lewis said in his reflection of the psalms when he says, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment.”  It’s why I want to tell Becky that I love her, or tell her she is beautiful.  Expressing those things is what completes my joy.

Now, you may ask why?  Why does this simple doorkeeper long to praise God.  Why does he want to express his delight in God.  He tells us in what he says next: Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

This is profound:  Think about the nature of sparrows with me for a moment.  Sparrows are the most abundant and common place of all God’s birds.  There’s nothing all that special about them. They were considered to be of little worth. But it was because they had little value, Jesus used them to illustrate how much the Father cares for us.  Remember what Jesus said? “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:28-31

Here’s the point: Sparrows had found a home with God.  Let me bring that home to us:  The humble, the lowly, the common can find a home in the presence of God.  That’s huge.  That’s why this man’s heart longed to express his praise to God, for even he had found a home with God.

Now, let’s look at the swallows. Swallows are a fast-moving bird that fly back and forth in different directions, wearing out anyone who tries to watch its movements. And yet, here, in the presence of God, this same bird builds a nest and settles down to rest with her young.  What this doorkeeper is telling us is this: The presence of God is where the restless find rest!

That’s why his heart longs for God.  For with God, the common can find a home and the restless can find rest with God. So, let me ask you: Do you long for God’s acceptance?  Are you looking for rest?  Then maybe all you need is to come home to God.  For He is not hard to find.  At one time, He dwelled with God’s people in the Temple.  But now He can be found anywhere.  For just as Jesus said, “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23   That’s the good news.  We now can come into His presence and express our praise of Him.  It’s why the  psalmist concluded this section by saying:  Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!  The heart that longs for God will find happiness in praising Him.  That’s the first way you can find happiness with God.  Here now is the second way:

Happy is the heart that pursues God Read verses 5 through 7 with me:  Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.  As they go through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7 Now, this is an interesting picture of the spiritual journey of God’s people as they traveled to Jerusalem to meet with God. Not everyone in Israel lived in Jerusalem.  Most lived in small villages or towns or on family farms. But all would gladly make this journey to Jerusalem so they could encounter God’s presence in worship. And they did so at least seven times a year as they came to celebrate the Feasts of God’s people.  So, in these verses we can learn a few things from their journey that may help us find our happiness in God.

First, the psalmist says, Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. The reason they are blessed, the reason they are happy, is that their strength is in their relationship with God.  Their strength is their confidence in God.  They take the roads to Zion knowing that God’s heart is with them.  With this confidence, their pilgrimage to Jerusalem is a pleasant and joyful journey.

Now he explains to us why it’s a joyful journey. He writes, As they go through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.  Now, the Valley of Baca was not a pleasant place. It was often called the “valley of weeping.” For the Jews, this valley represented the dry and difficult days of life that are filled with hardship and hopelessness that makes one weep.

But as God’s people make their way to God through this valley, they have an impact on it. They transform it. They make it into a place of springs. Their hope of communing with God transforms this place from a valley of weeping into springs of joy.

I love this picture, because this is the kind of influence we are called to make as we journey through this life. One of the ways the Bible identifies us, believers in Jesus, is as sojourners or pilgrims. This world is not our home.  Heaven is our home.  But while we are here, we have the potential to turn valleys of weeping into springs of joy. And it all has to do with the hope we have in Jesus.

When you live as a pilgrim, you live as one who is just passing through. Our hope is in God.  So when we face dry and difficult days, all is not lost. We don’t have to weep.  For we have a living hope – the resurrection of Jesus.  Because He lives, we know we will live.  Because He lives, we know He is preparing a place for us.  And when we hold onto this hope, we reveal something to those who are weeping – we show those who are weeping that there is so much more to life than this life.  We show them hope.

But we show them even more than that.  For now, the psalmist says, They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.  In other words, not only do God’s people journey through the valley of Baca, but to make it to Jerusalem, they must travel the road that takes them up to Jerusalem.  It’s a difficult journey.  If you’ve ever hiked mountain trails, you know that hiking up a mountain zaps your strength. It makes you weary. But that doesn’t happen to these travelers. Because they are anticipating the joy of meeting with God, they go from strength to strength. As they expend energy, they become stronger.  Now, how can that be?

If you are pursuing God, if your heart is set on communing with God, whether that be in worship, or in prayer, in gatherings with your journey group, or just in time alone with God, I’m reminded of what Isaiah wrote: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

In other words, having hope in God brings strength to the weak. So then, if you are weak, if you are weary, stop waiting for your life to change and start pursuing God. For happy is the heart that pursues God – they go from strength to strength!  That’s a second way the psalmist teaches us how we find happiness in God. Here now is the final way:

Happy is the heart that communes with God This whole psalm has been leading to this conclusion. The psalmist started with a longing for God. Then he spoke of pursuing God.  Now, finally, meeting with God. Listen to the text: O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!  Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! One 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.  For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! Psalm 84:8-12

This whole psalm comes down to this confession: “Better is one day in your presence than a thousand elsewhere.”  This is the confession of one whose job it is to usher God’s people into the presence of God. He knows how good he has it.  There is no place he’d rather be. There’s something about being in the presence of God that fills him with satisfaction and delight. He gets to come into the presence of God and enjoy Him. He delights in His presence.  Think about all the ways he express his delight:

There is pleasure in His presence: Better to be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  He doesn’t care about his status.  He’d rather be a janitor in God’s presence than to enjoy all the pleasures of the wicked.

There is security in His presence:  Four times in this psalm he calls His God, the Lord of Hosts.  The Lord God Almighty.  This is who He wants to be with.  The God of all power, who reigns with might over all the Universe.  It is better to spend one day with Him than a thousand elsewhere.  There is security in His presence.

There is care in His presence: For the Lord God is a sun and a shield.  His God is the source of light and life for His people.  The goodness of His glory shines on His people.  The strength of His shield protects His people.  This the God He longs to encounter.  This is the God of hope and help.  Better to spend one day in His presence than a thousand elsewhere.

There is favor and honor in His presence: The Lord bestows favor and honor. What a beautiful description of what our God does.  He gives us what we don’t deserve.  There is grace in His presence.  That’s the power of the gospel.  You and I don’t deserve anything because of our sin.  God cannot look upon sin.  So, He made a way to cover our sin – with the blood of Jesus.  He gave us Jesus to take away our sin.  It is the blood of Christ that makes it possible for you and me to come into the presence of God.  And now because of Jesus, when we behold our God, we find grace and more grace.  He gives us His love. He never runs out of mercy.  He gives us His righteousness.  He gives us Himself.  But He doesn’t stop there.  He gives us honor.  He makes us His child.  We are now His treasured possession.  We are co-heirs with Christ.  There is favor and honor in His presence.  And finally,

There is goodness in His presence: No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  As David reminded us in Psalm 23.  God continually pursues us with His goodness.  That’s why one day in His courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

And that is why our hearts long for God, why we long for His presence. Why our hearts want to pursue God and why the best thing we could ever imagine is coming into the presence of God and knowing His love.

This psalmist has tried to express his desire to be with God in this psalm. There’s just something about meeting with God that gives us joy, that gives us deep and enduring happiness. Perhaps this is best illustrated by all those who were drawn to meet with God at Asbury University last winter.  Here’s just some of the testimony of one young lady who witnessed and participated in the Asbury Outpouring.  Here name is Diane Nelson:

“By the time I arrived it was day nine, and I recognized my 19-year-old self in these seekers from near and far. The response of the Asbury University students openly coming to Jesus, worshiping Him with abandon, testifying to cleansing from sin, deliverance from anxiety, and fullness of joy unleashed the latent, but fully human created longing for God in young people all over the country and the world! They were invited by the Spirit to “Come and see!” what Jesus was doing in the lives of kids their own age.

Meeting and praying with them at “that rail” was such a joy. Some came speechless, with nothing to offer but tears of thanksgiving. Many came wanting Jesus for the first time ever, even though they had no Christian vocabulary for their longings. I asked each person if they’d ever given their lives to Jesus. For those who hadn’t yet given their lives to Him, we together walked with them into the goodness of who He is and what He has done for them. They confessed their sins aloud to Jesus. With each statement their voices rose in intensity of joy and freedom.

A guy drove a thousand miles, was the first one in the door, ran to the altar and threw himself on the floor heaving in despair for an hour. He found help and hope.

An addict just out of rehab who’d lost his family and everything else, received the risen Savior’s life into his own, walking back to his seat a new creation.

A wisp of a high school girl drove all the way from the Rocky Mountains, mustered the courage to come forward for cleansing of her sinful behavior, and experienced freedom from self-harm and anxiety. When we hugged before she went back to her seat she looked like a different person. Because she was!

A middle aged, newly divorced woman came to know Jesus as the One Who truly completes her, Who will never abandon her. She’d been a Christian for decades but had never talked directly to Jesus. She was undone. It was beautiful.

I gave a new Bible to one woman and had her underline a verse I showed her. She kept reading, grabbed the pen and underlined more verses. Later I saw her in the crowd with her new Bible clutched to her heart, smiling and singing gloriously.

In the crowds coming to see how and why there’s so much hope in central Kentucky, Jesus never sees a crowd. He sees each person individually, hears their cries, loves them, speaks to their hearts, “Come to Me.”

The sparrows find a home and the swallows build a nest.  The common come home and the restless find rest in the presence of God!  So then, if you know Jesus, if you’ve come to Jesus and put your trust in Him, then perhaps you can relate to how His goodness, His care, His favor and honor changes you.  If not, then know this:  You were created to know Him.  That’s why He sent Jesus to take your sins upon Him, so you could come home to Him. This world can never fulfill your deepest longings.  But because your heart was made to find a home with God, you can come to Him and trust in Him.  So, the psalmist concludes: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! Let’s pray.