Psalm 84 v 11 For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favour and [future] glory (honour, splendour, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly
This psalm is a particular favourite of mine (if you can pick favourites....there are so many beautiful psalms). This is one of the eleven psalms attributed to the sons of Korah, and I personally think that there is something very beautiful about many of their psalms. This psalm starts off with verses that resonate with my whole being - spirit soul and body:
How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!
My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God.
The sons of Korah were temple porters; they spent a lot of time in the temple, serving. Their servant hearts over-spilled their entire lives, and as such they longed and desired God above anything else. The cry of their heart was that they would rather spend one day in the courts of God as a doorkeeper, then a thousand at ease anywhere else (v10).
When you are deeply in love with someone, it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are with them. That sentiment is echoed in this psalm - there's nowhere else to be in the entire universe than with Him Whom our hearts long for. They felt positively homesick with longing to be in the presence of God, and I can utter the same in concurrence. There is nowhere like the presence of God, and my heart is continually longing to be with Him.
Servants of God - or those who minister (minister means to serve others) - often have big hearts. Those who serve God have their hearts transformed because they serve from a place of love for God (not of because of anything they receive whether that be money, thanks or recognition); they are walking in Jesus' footsteps. He came as a Servant, fulfilling the will of the Father, and putting aside all else. Once you begin serving, something seems to happen to your heart - it seems to become intrinsically linked to His, and your heartbeat syncs with His and He draws you to Him.
The disciples serving Jesus were the ones who saw the miracles up close (think of the loaves and fishes accounts), and were closest to Him daily, hearing His teachings, thoughts, emotions and desires. They experienced blessings that cannot be measured from being in His presence. These porters in the temple were saturated with love for their Master - Jehovah God!
But back to verse 11, notice how God has our present and our future? He has grace and favour for us NOW, and He has our future planned out for good things too, with glory, honour, splendour and heavenly bliss in store! He's concerned about our now and our future. There's no part of our lives that God isn't concerned for, and there's no part of our lives that He doesn't want to be involved in. He even counts the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12 v 7), that's how captivated He is with us.
Because He loves us so much, and love is Who He is, He's asked us simply to love Him, and love others. It sounds simple, and it's not an unreasonable request but it's a tough mandate to fulfil in reality.
The more time we spend with a person, the more we become like them. We pick up their mannerisms even without realising it. So if we spend time with God, we'll become more like Him. But let's be clear, it's not about trying to be "good" or attain salvation through our works or deeds - it's about trusting His Word, believing in His Son Jesus, and accepting that He has forgiven us, even though we can do nothing to earn that forgiveness. When we do this, we throw off the shackles that distance us from entering into His presence. Once we do this, we can get to know Him, become more like Him and our lives will be changed.
The sons of Korah loved being near to God, near His presence in the temple. But we have His presence all the time now through the Holy Spirit! So we can enter into His presence whenever we like. It is entirely up to us to make time for Him and get to know Him. He never overpowers us, or forces Himself on us. He bids us to come to Him, and He waits.
We are assured He won't withhold any good thing from us. Now, I think that's GOOD NEWS. In fact, it's amazing news! He has us covered with grace and favour in our present, and splendour and honour and heavenly bliss for our future. We can rest in His loving arms, knowing we are covered for our present and our future when we walk uprightly with Him.
