"I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells." Psalm 26.8

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." Psalm 27.4

From my early teen years I have been stunned continuously to discover the inclinations of my heart toward God. I love the Lord and His ways. He is the light and supreme meaning of my life. I did not cultivate this thirst on my own. Rather, it came from outside me and seems to be my very soul's desire to seek and know God. I say that not pridefully but humbly. When I'm at my very best as a man, I am led to the Source of All Life. When I'm not, I seek to quench my life thirst in the offal of this world.

For more than 20 years now (I'll pridefully be ambiguous about my age), I have been surprised by the Lord's graciously consistent call on my heart. He is good, kind, and beautiful. I agree wholeheartedly with David the Shepherd King.

I take refuge in Christ's love - often to an unhealthy extent. Let me explain that.

It's very possible for me to lose myself in biblical study or meditations on God and musings about His church. I can retreat into His lap and ignore the world with ease. It's at times like those that I sense the Father lovingly receiving me, but His silence becomes preponderous. It's as if He holds me but does not comfort me.

I've come to realize that my place is in the world - as much as I desire to be in His temple. He does not allow His people to dwell in the Holy of Holies indefinitely. His glory is too great to simply be gawked at. He desires for His people to enjoy Himself and to spread that enjoyment to a world that still knows only a meal of offal. A banquet of grace awaits them, and it's our highest privilege to be spiritual waiters.

In fact, I find after being gently "punted" back into the world after times of spiritual introspection that I discover more of God's heart and will as I interact in His world than I do when I think I'm in the "place His glory dwells."

It's not just special "holy" places that God works and appears.

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24.1