SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE

Psalm 84:1-2

“Is the Bible relevant today?” Stories from hundreds of years ago, weird names, suuuuper long chapters. It doesn’t always feel relevant. But to read Scripture is another way for God to provide comfort, clarity, and wisdom. Scripture meditations like this one can help you figure out how to get started reading the Bible.

 

Where Is Home?

Home can be a lonely word. It’s often accompanied by a sense of longing. Maybe for the nostalgia or comfort of childhood. Or, maybe, it evokes feelings of a life or experience that you wish you could’ve had. Even in the best-case scenarios, where our homes are filled with love, laughter, and warmth, the knowledge of impermanence can make our happiness feel fleeting and fragile.  Sometimes “home” evokes feelings of fear because of abuse or family brokenness.

It won’t always be this way. 

In fact, it doesn’t need to be this way now. While the home or dwelling place of the Lord to the Psalmist would’ve been the tabernacle, God now dwells in us. (And if that sounds weird, that’s ok. It does to us too. Just embrace the weirdness.) Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s made a home in you. So, while the question “where is home” might sometimes feel lonely, remember that his home is beautiful, eternal, and abundant in all good things– and that he’s started to make it with you.

Psalm 84:1-2

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

    Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

    for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

    for the living God.

Observations from the Text

  • The place where God dwells is beautiful (v. 1).
  • Our hearts desire God (v. 2)
  • We find peace in his presence (v. 2)

Prayers of Response

Home is a hard idea for me because of _______. Show me that the home you have built within me is a good one.

Lord, I am struggling to view myself as you see me when I think about __________. 

Prayer Requests

Emmanuel, God with us, in my loneliest times when I am feeling ________, help me remember that you are dwelling within me.

Father, please be with _________ as they continue to wrestle with their relationship with you.

Prayers of Readiness

God, let me feel your presence as I prepare to ___________ this week.

When I feel my heart and flesh cry out for _________, help me understand that what I am really seeking is you. 

 

Turning to Scripture in times of hardship or when you’re in need of guidance is a great way to connect with God in the ordinary, extraordinary, everyday moments of life. Visit this page for more Scripture meditations.

 

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™