the house.

Psalm 23. The most well-known Psalm in the Bible, in my opinion. Most often used at funerals & grave sites. We know it, see it often, have it memorized. I have to admit that I even let these words become commonplace in my life at times. Reading it again today encouraged me, especially the last verse:

Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, & I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I want goodness & mercy to be with me all the days of my life! How was David [the author of this Psalm] so sure? How do I assure myself that this is true for me too? Through researching this question, I discovered that my answer can be found by simply inverting this verse.

If I dwell in the house of the Lord forever, goodness & mercy will follow me.

Goodness & mercy will follow me as I dwell with God.

Jesus tells us in John 14:2-3 that he prepares a place for us in his Father's house because it has many rooms.

2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us that God has made a house for us with his own hands.

1 Timothy 3:15 refers to the house as "the household of God, which is the church of the living God"

The house of the Lord can be found both eternally, as well as earthly.

God has prepared a place for us in eternity with Him upon our salvation. Meanwhile, his kingdom is here with his people on earth. We, the church, believers, are the household of God. As we dwell with each other & dwell in His Word & deed, we will find His goodness & mercy.