Better is One Day
Psalm 84:10
“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 tents of the wicked.”
I’ve noticed over the past few months or so how much I love listening to the lyrics of worship songs or hymns. There were always certain songs that stuck out to me because of different lines or verses, but lately I have been more intentional about listening to lyrics and it has grown my faith tremendously. It has challenged me to think more deeply about what I am saying and how I am praising, and when those songs get stuck in my head it challenges me to ponder them even more, or maybe talk about what it means to me with a friend. I am the friend in my house that is always singing. Whether we’re in the car, cooking, walking to class, in the grocery store, you name it, my friends can tell you I am always singing. I love to sing, but even more than that I now love to know what I am singing.
A few weeks ago, my church sang the song, “Better is One Day”, by Matt Redman. Apparently this is an early 2000s worship classic, but it was my first time hearing it. Wow it got me good. It was one of those songs that struck me so hard I started sending it to a lot of people to listen to it and playing it around my apartment or anytime I got in the car. I’m sure we’ve all had songs that hit us in this way. The overarching message of this song is the reminder that one day in the courts of the Lord, one day united with the Lord, one day in the presence of the King of glory, is better than thousands of your best days on earth.
“One thing I ask, and I would seek, to see Your beauty,
To find You in the place Your glory dwells
Better is one day in Your courts”
When I think about my favorite days on earth, I always wish I could go back and relive them. Consider your favorite people, in your favorite place, doing your favorite thing. A thousand of those days, while full of laughter and happiness and love, pale in comparison to one day in His courts. Do you ever find yourself thinking it would be sad if God came back before you got to do one thing or another. This is where I have been greatly convicted through this song. Maybe you can’t wait to graduate, go on that trip with your best friend, get married, go to that concert, go on that mission trip. While none of these things are bad things in themselves, when our greatest desire is not union with the Lord and eternally praising Him, we have the wrong desires. It is selfish to think “If only God will wait to come back until after we are married, preferably for a few years, maybe even after we have a kid together.” Or to think, “I’ve been working so hard toward this degree, as long as I can walk across that stage and feel accomplished I’ll be good to go.” This is a hard conviction because God gave us skills, desires, people, places to enjoy here on earth, but our ultimate purpose is to live for Christ with eternal things in mind.
Truly sit and think about how glorious that will be to be in a place where there is no sin, no shame, no tears, no hurt, no lies, no pride, no brokenness. There will be eternal worship with all of creation. “Then I heard every creature on heaven and on earth, and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them saying, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever” (Revelation 5:13). The city will be of gold clear as glass, the foundation made of precious stones. The sounds of praise and trumpets will resound. We will be united with the only being that is pure, holy, perfectly just, forgiving, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, mighty in every way, righteous, gracious, merciful, and who loves you and chose you for His Kingdom. What greater gift is there than this? All our best moments on earth are tainted by our sin and the sin around us. The best day, event, moment we can craft up will always be tainted by our brokenness until we are reunited with the Lord.
“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 tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10