A doorkeeper in the house of God

Psalm 84:10 “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.”

The concept of serving God rather than the world is one that runs its course through the entirety of scripture. Of chief concern through all of this is true belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. In John 6 the people ask Jesus what they must do in order to be doing the works of God; his response is “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So before we start the concept of serving God we need to maintain our belief in Christ and our continued devotion to Him. We must continue to be sustained by him and to walk with Him. We see those who believed in God battling worldly desires and temptations from the time of Lot (who we know was saved only by what the New Testament tells us, not his individual life since he stayed in Sodom and Gamorrah) to David who struggled with having too many wives and his sin with Bathsheba. We see people like Rahab who was previously a prostitute, and Jonah who disobeyed the voice of God. We see individuals who overcame their worldly desires and continued in the grace of God for His glory, such as Abraham, Joseph, Samuel, Nathan, Paul, Barnabas; they were wholly devoted to the work of the Lord.

Psalm 84 focuses on the truth that it is better to be in the house of God than anywhere else, it is better to be in the presence of God than among the people who do not serve God. That’s why initially at verse 1-2 it states, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” To know and understand that beauty and majesty of the courts of the Lord is one that can only come through continual meditation and focus on God and His goodness. A focus through prayer and obedience to His word and seeking to understand and think His thoughts and words towards the various situations we find ourselves in. As we continue to draw near to the presence of God we are able to repeat after the Psalmist, “How lovely is your dwelling place…my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord.” As we seek the presence of God in our daily living we will more and more realize the strength and power, the grace and love of God and that will drive us to pursue and desire Him even more. We will see how in verse 4-5 that those who seek after God are blessed, those who receive their strength from God are blessed and it will produce in us praise and glorification of the Most High God, the only living and glorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It will cause us to worship and praise His Son Jesus Christ, to follow Him alone and to serve the purposes of God in our everyday life.

When we come to the end of the psalm we see the initial phrase, “…I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” This is not a plea for mediocrity or for low standards for our lives, but rather a remarkable truth. The lowest position of service in the presence of God is far better and greater than ever dwelling in the tents of wickedness. Those who have experienced the grace of God can continually raise their Amen to this as we see where God has taken us from, how He has answered our prayers continually, how He has done good to us, and taken us out of darkness, malice, discontentment, depression, anger, and every sin that seeks to ensnare us. He has brought freedom and life, power and grace, love to His saints, as well as, faith for Him and His Son, and we are continually thankful. We see that it truly is better to serve the lowest position in His courts and house than to serve the highest position among the wicked living according to their desires and the desires of the flesh. This is exactly why Paul can say that we should walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This is why we seek to put off the old man enslaved to wickedness and evil desires and to put on the new man renewed in the power and image of Jesus Christ, saved, sustained, and promised a life hereafter in His courts for all eternity.

As we seek to continue in our daily walk with God, let us make this our prayer, that we might dwell in Gods presence, that we might be in tune with His leading us by His Spirit that we might remain in His courts and walk in His ways. This is not a mystical concept where we simply do not know how to grasp; we know it is by prayer, obedience to His word and work, a willingness to listen to His word. Let it be our prayer to serve God in whatever capacity He desires, for to serve even as lowly a position as a doorkeeper is far better than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Let us have the mind of the apostles as they responded to Jesus difficult teaching and the leaving of many disciples. Jesus says, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” To whom shall we go, where can we possibly desire to be as believers outside of the presence and the will of God.