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The last three blogs have looked at the Psalm devotionally. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. Today, however, we’re going to conclude by pulling out five treasures of practical advice from the Psalm. The writer of the Psalm encouraged and motivated me to have the same dwelling-with-God experience that he had, but find myself asking the practical questions like: How do I get to God’s presence? How do I live in His presence of God? How do I dwell with Him? Well, in the midst of this wonderful devotional Psalm there is some practical advice. Let’s look at five “best practices” the Psalmist identifies:

1) Verse 2 (“My soul yearns…”) – Desire the Lord. If you don’t have a desire for the Lord, ask for it. Remember, the end of the Psalm says that God doesn’t withhold any good thing from those who love Him. Is desiring the Lord a good thing? Absolutely. Consider these verses in 1 John:

¹⁴This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John5:14-15

Is desiring a better relationship with God in His will. Absolutely. If you don’t have that soul yearning to be near the Lord, ask for it.

2) Verse 4 (“Blessed are those who dwell…they are ever praising you”) – There is a connection between dwelling with God and praise. God dwells in the praises of His people. Don’t be shy about praising Him. Even in those situations that you think might be awkward – at school or at work – when you know that God deserves the praise but you are reluctant to verbally acknowledge Him because what will your friends think or what will your coworkers or customers or bosses think. You know what? I don’t know what they’ll think. But I know that God will dwell in those praises and I know that God in the midst of any situation is better than God not in the midst of it.

3) Verse 5 (“set their hearts on pilgrimage”) – Set your hearts on pilgrimage. Make a decision. Don’t just want it. Make a decision to have it. There are lots of things in this life that I want. But until I actually decide to pursue them, I don’t make the life changes necessary to have them. I might want a smaller house payment and less housework, but unless I am willing to give up lots of my stuff, I can’t have that smaller house that will give me the smaller payment and workload. Because all my stuff won’t fit in a smaller house. The same is true of every area of our lives. Pursuing any thing means turning away from other things. Make a decision to pursue God more. And then get rid of some of the stuff that keeps you from pursing Him.

4) Verse 6 (“As they pass through”) – Pass through the Valley of Baca, don’t camp there. Keep your feet (and heart) moving until you have gone from strength to strength. Continue your pilgrimage toward the heart of God.

5) Verses 8 and 9 (“Hear my prayer, O Lord”) – Pray often, simple prayers thrown in the midst of everything else you’re doing. Then have confidence in God. Know that He hears you and that His desires and plans are for your good.

Five practical tips from a Psalm that is, at its heart, a devotional Psalm. I love that God is a practical God who wants our hearts and our hands. Be blessed, friends, as you read and meditate not only on Psalm 84, but all other passages in God’s wonderful and amazing and calming and practical Word.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 9:41 am and is filed under Christian Living, Experiencing God, Intimacy with God, training for spiritual growth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.