My recent visit to Israel confirmed everything I’d ever read about it. Within the pages of my journal I wrote: I am captivated by its beauty—lush greens in the midst of desert mountains—and stunned by its height…No wonder this was David’s hiding place; a refuge from harm and an overflowing sanctuary of God’s presence and relief.

Yet, at impressive as this desert hideaway was and is, it is without question that David yearned to return to the place where the presence of God dwelled. And so, perhaps it was he who wrote:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God….

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 tens of the wicked. (Excerpted from Psalm 84)

And So We Sing

In 1999, singer/songwriter Matt Redmon penned the song, “Better is One Day.” We have now sung it in our time of worship within churches and gatherings and even in our private praise time for nearly a decade. The next time you raise your voice with this melody, ask yourself this question: What one thing would you ask of God—and what would you seek—that would far surpass to see His beauty?

“I will draw near to you,” the last line of the song goes.

And so we should.

And so we do.

Questions for Private or Group Study

Think of the best day of your life. What made it so special?

What one thing on earth would you love to see? Compare it to a day with God. How does it stack up?

Have you ever experienced a time in the presence of God that left you yearning, aching to be within Him in such a way again?

The tabernacle and temple in Israel no longer exists but 1 Corinthians 6:19 says: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? How do you spend your time, therefore, within the Presence of God?

Eva Marie Everson’s book Reflections of Israel; A Personal Journey to God’s Holy Land (Thomas Nelson/Nelson Bibles) will release May, 2008. For more information about the book and Eva’s speaking topics, go to: www.EvaMarieEverson.com