Psalm 90

What is the difference between a house and a home?

A house is wood and nails. A home is wood and nails AND family and memories.

"Home is where the heart is," as the old saying goes. Therefore, when we pray, "1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" we are saying that we entrust our hearts to God. Just like we recline and rest in our home, we are saying that we find rest and peace in the presence of the Lord. In his kitchens, we are nourished. In his gardens, we are blessed. In his presence, we are whole.

As children, home is a place of comfort and protection. But as children, it is also a place of teaching. No wonder the child of God who wrote this Psalm prayed, "12 Teach us ..." Indeed, "12 Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom."

Good parents also discipline, and the Psalmist reflects that too. Like the mother who seems to have eyes in the back of her head, "8 You spread out our sins before you, [O Lord,] ... you see them all. 7 We wither beneath your anger." Though all of us surely and often prayed that we'd never get caught, getting caught and withering beneath a good parent's discipline is actually -- if we're honest -- what helped us grow.

"1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" The first word that struck me was obviously the nurturing of "home." But another series of words also strikes me in that verse -- "through all the generations." In one sense, "through all the generations" reflects the sweep of time that is in God's hands -- "2 Before the mountains were created ... you are God. [You] are without beginning or end. [And at our end,] you turn [us fragile and temporary] people back to dust."

From God's side, "through all the generations" is but a moment and a twinkling of an eye. "4 For you, a thousand years are as yesterday!"

But let's talk about our side. "1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" But what about in this generation? In every generation, faith in God is in jeopardy. In every generation, people choose to follow themselves or the ways of the world. In every generation, people want their ears tickled, their consciences placates, and their selfish desires met. "10 Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble." Pain and trouble and blaming God for pain and trouble cause millions in every generation to doubt and slip.

Think of it: We make our homes on this earth. We give our hearts to the ways of the world. We reject pain and suffering and discipline. Therefore, the church is always one generation away from extinction.

Therefore, when the Psalmist prays, "1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home," he's really prompting a question: "Is God your home ... today?"

As children, we like to turn to the Lord for comfort, but do we turn to him for discipline? A good parent loves ... and challenges ... and teaches ... and encourages ... and judges ... and nurtures ... and protects ... and pushes. Do we let God be our Father ... or not? Indeed, is God your home ... today?

Lord be my home.

Do not let be comfortable anywhere else

but in your hands.