I enjoy dates with my wife. Tracy and I go on one or two date-nights a month, and I look forward to them every time. This past month, we went away for four nights. Since that was the longest we’ve been away just the two of us, we were anticipating those nights away for weeks! Of course, we look forward to time together because we love each other. We enjoy each other’s company. Whether it’s a four-hour date night or it’s a four-night trip away from home, we want to savor those moments. I think about this as I ponder this past week’s Fighter Verses:
For a 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 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 84:10-12)
Did you notice the time span here? Did you notice the comparison? One day with the Lord is better than one thousand days anywhere else! Generally speaking, we’d rather have one thousand days than one day. But if the comparison is between one day with the Lord or one thousand days anywhere else, then being with the Lord takes precedence.
The psalmist here is emphasizing the infinite value of God himself! One day with the Lord is worth more than a millennia. Do you see it? But don’t stop there. Our question should be, “How can I attain the privilege of being with the Lord for one day?” Answer: only the Lord can give that privilege. But the Lord doesn’t want to give His children just one day. He wants us to have millennia upon millennia with Him in His presence. He wants to give us an eternity. And he does so through Jesus – the One who died, rose again and reigns today!
Ventura, we should rejoice because even this week as we worship, we are simply experiencing a foretaste of our days, years, decades, millennia with our Lord to come. Can we even fathom this glorious grace? This reminds me of Amazing Grace:
“When we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s grace than when we first begun.”
Blessed is the one who trusts in him! So, let’s praise him this week. Let’s rejoice in the Lord and look to the One who loves us as we gather together a Ventura Baptist Church, here in Holland, MI.
Pastor Timothy Durey