Sometimes for my devotions, I choose one chapter in the Bible to read every day for a month or longer. After reading the entire chapter, I focus on memorizing one or two verses at a time. A few months ago, I found rings of 3×5 cards with glittery covers. They were perfect for copying the verse I was memorizing and adding a reflective note at the bottom of the card as I meditated on that verse.
When I decided to pursue joy in 2025, I began meditating on and memorizing Psalm 84. In the beginning of this psalm, the writer expresses how pleasant God’s house is. He craves being in God’s presence. When I reached verse 3, I had to think a little to grasp what the psalmist was saying:
“Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.” –Psalm 84:3 (KJV)
I wonder . . . did the psalmist spend time at the tabernacle, look up, and see birds making nests in one of God’s altars? Was that the inspiration for this psalm? Would birds building nests there even be a good thing? An altar does not seem like a practical or appropriate place for a bird to build a nest. Maybe the psalmist was just coming up with a metaphor.
When I get to heaven, I may need to find the writer and ask these questions.
Yet as I thought about the message of this verse, I recognized an important truth:
The place of sacrifice is a place of rest and safety.
How often do we struggle to “lay something on the altar”? A dream. A desire. An ambition. An addiction. Sometimes our wicked hearts crave something destructive to our hearts, minds, and spirits. Sometimes our confused hearts want something that looks good and godly, and yet God knows it is not best for us.
At such times, we are called to take those desires and figuratively lay them on the altar. We give up our right to them. We relinquish them to God.
Often, sacrifice hurts. We struggle to sacrifice something we want or love. We weep over it. We fear the outcome.
And yet, when we make that sacrifice, we find peace. We find a place of safety and nourishment. We have given those desires and dreams to the LORD of hosts. He is our King and our God. He has all authority and power. When we yield ourselves to Him, we place ourselves under His protection. This almighty God nourishes, comforts, and protects His children far better than a mother bird cares for her young. And, as my mom often reminds me, you can’t out-sacrifice the Lord.
So let’s go to the place of sacrifice. Take our hopes and dreams there. Take the precious things there. Present ourselves as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1 {KJV}). For that is where we find true joy.
As the psalmist says in the very next verse,
“Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.” –Psalm 84:4 (KJV)
Copyright © 2025 by Carmen Dillon. All rights reserved.
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Selah, indeed! The Psalms are such a blessing.