One day in the house of God is better than a thousand elsewhere

I was feeling rather tired last night, so I thought maybe I should skip prayer and head straight to bed.. but a thought came over me, and I wondered if it really was going to be worth it to lose time with God just to gain sleep, or would I rather lose sleep and gain time with God. After all, if heaven is where Jesus is, I really should be clearly aware of which is a more worthy way to spend my time, and so with that, I walked into my room and started praying..

That's when I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, "One day in the house of God is better than a thousand days elsewhere.."

So, I took my Bible out and meditated upon Psalm 84:
1 How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You. Selah

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.[b]

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

12 O LORD of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Indeed.. no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
What comfort we get, when we rest in God..
Amen.

Much knowledge is also vanity upon vanity

Two nights ago, when I was doing my quiet time, I sat down with my Bible and asked God what He will say to me tonight,
And then quietly I felt Him tell me to refer to Ecclesiates. While looking for the book of Ecclesiates, I felt the Holy Spirit say, “everything is meaningless, it is a mere chasing of the wind..” As I was pondering upon that verse, I found the book of Ecclesiastes only to realize that the verse came right from the book of ECCLESIASTES! I then knew without a doubt that God was really highlighting that text to me. I then subsequently read up the Commentary to find out more on Ecclesiastes and to search for what God wanted to say..

It said, “If this world, in its present state, were all, it would not be worth living for; and the wealth and pleasure of this world, if we had ever so much, are not enough to make us happy. What profit has a man of all his labour? All he gets by it will not supply the wants of the soul, nor satisfy its desires; will not atone for the sins of the soul…Solomon tried all things, and found them vanity. He found his searches after knowledge weariness, not only to the flesh, but to the mind. The more he saw of the works done under the sun, the more he saw their vanity; and the sight often vexed his spirit. He could neither gain that satisfaction to himself, nor do that good to others, which he expected. Even the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom discovered man's wickedness and misery; so that the more he knew, the more he saw cause to lament and mourn. Let us learn to hate and fear sin, the cause of all this vanity and misery; to value Christ; to seek rest in the knowledge, love, and service of the Saviour.”

You see, I happen to be one who is rather critical, seeking to define the rights and wrongs in the things I see, I judge, I thirst after knowledge. And this is merely one part of me.

Then, there’s the other part of me that struggles.. I struggle constantly upon this ‘thorn of my flesh’ – it is my weakness, it is the cross I bear, and I struggle to overcome it. One night, I even had a dream. I dreamt of my secondary classmate whom I bumped into on the streets one day. I asked her what she was doing and realized to my surprise she is a praise and worship leader in her church! (She had never been the religious type as far as I knew) Not long into the conversation, I invited her to go clubbing one of these nights, which in the dream, was symbolic of going into a past lifestyle.. But to which she refused.. She replied with utmost sincerity, “I have sacrificed a lot to be where I am and worked very hard to come all the way to become the leader today.. I really do not want to throw it all away – it would be a waste.” Hearing from her made me identify with my own situation. I too, have come a long way. Am I prepared to throw it all away in exchange for temporal gains?

I woke up the next day pondering upon that dream, knowing that there was a message behind it, and God was helping me make a godly choice about the temptations that I face.

Truly, the pursuit of all things material is nothing but vanity. Vanity upon vanity, vanities of all vanities, and it is meaningless; a mere chasing of the wind.


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I continue to pray for God’s guidance and His divine protection upon my life; that I will have His wisdom to make the right choices in life.

Without You God, life would be a hell, but as long as I have You, even hell would be a heaven.

I thank You God for being close by my side. I feel You with me. And I feel blissful and secure..