One Day in His Courts

Psalm 84:10

“Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in 

the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

If I said “Disney trip!” my whole family would instantly go back to February 2007 in Florida. That was such a special trip because we surprised the girls and had a blast. I know many people who go back to Disney frequently because it is such a cool place to vacation. For the Dawson family, this trip holds a special place because I have one memory of it. It holds a special place where our family vacationed just that one time.

This verse in Psalm 84 is a famous one because we often sing a song about it. The writer of the Psalm is sharing his Disney moment with God. He would rather have one day in the courts of the Lord than a thousand elsewhere. In other words, being with the Lord in His courts, or the temple back then, was such a great place to be that even one day there would be better than anywhere else.

We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, so the courts of the Lord are within us. The experience the writer of the Psalm was reflecting on was about a place back then, but since we have the Holy Spirit, we can have that same experience every day.

The world has mastered the art of taking your attention away from God. Here’s a test: have you excused your way out of reading the Bible? Have you brushed off prayer time? Is sleeping in more important than going to church? If the answer is yes to any of these, then God wants to know you better. A relationship with the Lord is not a garment you put on and take off, but an every-hour, every-day process that grows over time, kind of like your best buddy. You would never dream of acting like your best friends are just garments you put on and take off. Try talking to the Lord all day long and listen to His still, small voice. It gets louder the more time you spend with Him, and the less time you spend talking to the Holy Spirit, the quieter He becomes. Make a decision to be radical for the Lord and let Him use you in a mighty way.

Prayer: Father, help us cherish the time we get to spend with You, Lord. I pray that we would feel like this Psalm and truly be able to say that it is better to be with the Lord than to be anywhere else. In Jesus’ name, amen.