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Daily Devotion: Psalm 84:4-5

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Psalm 84:4    "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah."

Psalm 84:5    "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them."

I did not combine the two verses for a reason. I want to look briefly at each one and then see how they apply to our individual lives.

Verse 4 speaks of dwelling, or abiding, or sitting down in a specific place. That place can be a geographical location, but it doesn't have to be any one particular location. We definitely experience praise when we are worshiping in the Spirit of God in the house of God. There is a great blessing to be surrounded by other saints of God who love the Lord and one another. There is a great blessing when hearts are joined together in the presence of the Almighty. Recently, we saw in verse one that it is "amiable", or lovely and filled with love, to be in the tabernacle (presence) of the Lord. We saw that tabernacle is ultimately the place within our hearts where we know our Lord abides.

Verse 5 speaks of relying upon the wisdom and strength of God as we are faced with struggles and afflictions of life. Life is filled with disappointment after disappointment if we try to get by on our own strength.

Notice both verses begin with the word, "blessed."  Let us look at both verses connected with each other.  We experience a calmness of soul when our hearts are dwelling (seated and settled) in the unconditional love and mercy of God. As we reflect upon the deep deep love of God, there is a stillness of mind while lifting His glorious name in worship and praise. The more we actively praise Him, the more we see and experience His glorious strength. Our hearts become calm as we wait upon the Lord's strength to be manifested in our lives.

This morning, I asked myself: "Am I missing a blessing because I am trying to use my own strength and ability instead of relying upon the Lord? Am I feeling weak when in reality, there is a great strength available to me by looking to my Lord?"

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