Psalm 84:1–12 (NRSV)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

2 My soul longs, indeed it faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

4 Happy are those who live in your house,

ever singing your praise. Selah

5 Happy are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6 As they go through the valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength;

the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9 Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed.

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 live in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the LORD withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12 O LORD of hosts,

happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Reflection:

Happy. Lovely. Joy. Favor. Honor. Strength.

The promise of tangible results abound in this psalm. Real impact for real people is at the core of our faith. I am convinced that we miss so much of what God is doing because we have our head down in busyness; our eyesight clouded by worry or doubt; or our gaze distracted by the shiny objects of this world that will not last.

Prayer:

Lord, give me your perspective for all things in this world. May I view things as you do. Give me the eyes to see your blessings all around me. Create in me a grateful heart O God.