Still Praising

July 25, 2020

Psalm 84:4–_“Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising you.” Two words stand out to me in this short verse: “dwell” and “still.” 

Most of us don’t dwell in God’s house much. Mind you, I’m not speaking of the church building we sometimes refer to as “God’s house,” although a case could be made for the disastrous effects of our failure to spend time together in worship. I’m speaking of being in a mindset where we are consciously and continuously aware of God’s Presence through the Holy Spirit. We don’t dwell there much. We visit, pay our respects, drop in for awhile, but our real home is elsewhere. We hang our hats not on the Sacraments or proclamation of the Word, but on the evening news. We make our beds with diversions, eat our meals at the fleshpots of Egypt. 

Our time in the house of God is fleeting, and the effect of our neglect is our inability to praise God when the going gets tough. When all is well, we praise easily; our hands are lifted high, tears may course down our cheeks. When trouble comes, we may continue to praise, but when that trouble persists, are we still praising? Or does our praise turn to pouting, our worship to worry, and our courage to complaint? And all because we aren’t dwelling in the house of God.

O my soul—leave all else behind and run back to the place where God dwells, that you may still praise him when others have ceased their songs. Send your roots deep into the soil where the rivers run deep and never dry up. Dwell in the house of the Lord, and you will still praise him, even through the storm.