God’s Doorkeeper (Psalm 84:10)

 

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Psalms 82; 84

2 Samuel 14:25-15:6

John 11:17-37

Observance: Oswald, king and martyr (d. 642)

God’s Doorkeeper (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.

Humanity’s enemy, while crafty, is not very original. He only has the one playbook, the one lie. He is a bit of a broken record. That one deception with which he tries to bring down the children of God is the idea that we can have a good time away from our heavenly Father. When we say it out loud like that, we realise that, in spite of his infamy, the enemy is actually not that appealing.

Perhaps it is not so much a question of whether it is possible to have a good time away from God; the question actually is, why would we want to? God is our source of life, and he is the fountain from which all love pours forth. When he came in human flesh, he wept with us over the death of our loved ones; when he ascended into heaven, he did so as our intercessor. His Holy Spirit is our advocate, God On Our Side; our Father’s house has many rooms, one of which is being prepared specially for us.

Today, the Psalmist is singing about how he would much rather be a doorman in God’s house than living free to do whatever he likes. Standing outside a door is preferable to reclining inside a tent.

Even if we were to agree with the Psalmist, we don’t have to settle for that, though. In Christ we are welcomed through the door, into the house of God. The question isn’t whether we would like to stand outside God’s house or recline inside a tent of our own; the question is do we want to live in our Father’s home as his children, or run away and live in a tent on our own? Surely the answer is easy. All of the riches of Christ are on offer to be shared with us, if we but allow ourselves to be embraced by his outstretched arms of love.

Where do you feel your soul living at the moment? Are you living in a tent in the wilderness? Are you standing at the door of the house of God? What is it like to step into the house of God as his adopted child in Christ?

God of ages, you are our home, the place from where we have come, and the place to which we will return. When we are enticed away by deception, draw us back to you, that we may enjoy all the benefits of your adopted children.