The Spirit’s Home

The Spirit’s Home

I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD.

Psalm 132:4-5

IN WORD The psalmist ascended to Jerusalem, where God dwells, while meditating on the origin of the Temple. It began as King David’s highest hope—to build a temple where the Lord could dwell. God did not let him leave that legacy, but he honored the desire. He promised David that one of his descendants would forever sit on the throne. We know now who that descendant was and is—Jesus, the King who will reign for all eternity. But David’s desire is in some ways unfulfilled. The Lord still seeks places to dwell.

We’re not called to build temples, of course. Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith, and we are the temple of God. He lives in His church collectively and individually, and He still seeks a better home. The house of God is growing, and we are a vital element in its growth. We are to find other hearts where He can dwell.

The house of God should improve in quality, too. However long He has lived within us, He is not yet perfectly at home there. We still have clutter that interferes with His living space; desires that contradict His plans for us; and attitudes that conflict with His character. Our hearts should be clear, the road into them free from debris. But that’s not the case. We’ve tried to crowd into our hearts both God and ambitions, or God and unhealthy relationships, or God and money or possessions. The house of God is not the place it ought to be.

IN DEED Look at the depth of David’s desire. He would not rest well until he found a place for God. He brought the Ark and a tabernacle to Jerusalem, and still he dreamed of a permanent temple. He was deeply unsettled—sleepless and willing to suffer hardship—until he settled that issue.

Is that your attitude toward the residence of God within your own heart and within your church? Are you restless until it grows both in quantity and quality? Is your greatest desire to make sure that God has a fertile, welcoming place in your life? Learn to see your heart as a dwelling place—and make it completely His.

Thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer, before all temples the upright heart and pure.

—JOHN MILTON