Psalm 84

There were two wonderful points to make about God from this chapter, and I couldn’t pass either of them by, so I tried to marry them with my blog title. God is everlasting; and He is on a road trip.

The first point comes from that famous verse: “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (vs 10)

Many commentators focus on the doorkeeper/dweller comparison. Being a “doorkeeper” probably didn’t mean opening and closing doors for God. It was probably a reference to the Israelite custom of dealing with slaves who decided to stay with their masters after their term of service was up. The master would pierce the servant’s ear by boring it to the door post (Ex 21:5-6), and then he would belong to the family forever. Thus, the author here was most likely saying he’d rather be a slave in God’s house than a free man living with the wicked.

But what I noticed about the verse was the fact that God has a house while the wicked have tents. Sin isn’t something that will last forever. It can’t. It’s built on transitory principles; it’s built on selfishness, and selfishness self-destructs. The wicked will never live in anything more permanent than tents. Their sin only lasts for a season.

By contrast, God’s dwelling is permanent. He has a house—the kind built on a rock. It will never be destroyed. It will never crumble. It is built on love, and love is everlasting. It leads to life and more life. It goes on forever.

Coupled with this comparison between houses and tents is the idea that God is on a journey. That comes from verse 5: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” To have your heart set on God is to have your heart set on pilgrimage. God is a mover and a shaker. He is not idle. He is always on the move.

Bible commentator Frederick Fysh said this about verse 5: “The natural heart is a pathless wilderness, full of cliffs and precipices. When the heart is renewed by grace, a road is made, a highway is prepared for our God.” This is what God does. He encounters the wilderness of our hearts and, with our permission, fires up the bulldozer of grace:

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” (Isa 40:3-5)

God is the great leveler. When we allow Him to work in our lives, He will fill in every valley, He will lower every mountain. Life will cease to be a chaotic mess of dizzying highs and depressing lows as God’s grace builds a highway and instills in us an abiding peace and contentment no matter where the journey is taking us. This is how God’s glory is revealed—in us as we travel through life with His peace.

And this is how I see our life now and in the hereafter with God: as an incredible, never-ending road trip. The pilgrimage with Him and to Him lasts forever. We will never stop learning, never stop knowing more, never stop becoming more. Yes, blessed are those who have their hearts set on pilgrimage!