Tag: Loyalty

Yearning For His Courts

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Psalm 84: 1-2, 4, 10

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!

My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

When my family first started attending our church, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the congregants’ response to “How are you?” Most of them would reply, “I am blessed.” Usually, we hear, “I am doing well or all good or fine.” Not that there is anything wrong with those answers but ‘I am blessed’ definitely took us by surprise. After a few weeks, as we were getting to know our fellow believers, I was amazed to hear how some of them are eager to enter God’s presence. They talked about Heaven as though going from one town to another. Many of them were enthusiastically waiting for the Lord’s call.

The Psalmist of Psalm 84 sounded just like my fellow believers. He longed and yearned to be in the courts of the Lord. Even a single day in the Heavenly courts was much better than a thousand elsewhere. He’d rather be standing at the threshold of God’s house than anywhere else. He wasn’t worried about the cares of this world. The reason he longed to be there was to praise Him forever. He probably envied those who were already in the Lord’s presence when he exclaimed, “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.”

Not only his soul but his heart and his flesh longed to be in His presence and sing for joy. One day soon, when we receive our glorified bodies, we will be in His presence forever praising Him. Many of us are concerned about the things of the world. To some extent they are important but they shouldn’t be consuming our lives. The political situation in our country, the terror that is exploding in unexpected places, the mental and spiritual state of humanity, epidemics, world’s hunger and poverty, the economic condition of individual as well as state, etc., are all very important concerns. We should be involved in all these matters, and be aware of what is going on around the world. However, these matters should neither overwhelm us nor consume us.

We all live in a fallen world. As believers, it is our responsibility, first and foremost, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world around us as He is the only hope for mankind. The entire world is falling apart and we are not equipped to fix it. We can do our part to make it a tad bit better. Nevertheless, our business must be about restoring lost souls to the Kingdom of Heaven. When our hearts long for His presence, we so desire that others around us also shouldn’t miss out on Heaven. When people see the joy of the expectation of Heaven on our faces, they also will long to have such a desire. It is a good contagion, if you ask me. That is how I too got the contagion from my fellow believers. Now my soul longs to be in His presence as well.

Recently, my aunt went home to be with the Lord after a long battle with illness. She was a strong woman in the Lord. Despite her illness, she continued to pray for scores of people that they would come to the saving grace and knowledge of God. The doctors had given up on her and sent her home. As she teetered between heaven and her bedroom, the family that gathered around her could see her smile, hear her hum and in between pray. When she was strong enough to muster some words, she assured her daughters that she is asking God to strengthen them and that she prayed for future generations as well. Her only request was that they should continue to grow in faith and do their part for the Kingdom of Heaven. Her life and testimony had been to show case Jesus through her life and music. However, her soul yearned for Heaven. Now she is in His presence singing His praises evermore.

Dear Saints of God, no matter how deep the valleys or how high the mountains are in this world or how chaotic the world around us is, when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, who awaits us in Heaven, then we too will sing like the Psalmist, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, Lord. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42: 1-2

Let us make this our prayer:

Psalm 27: 4

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.

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A Doctor Or A Fairy

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

They rushed to the book store. They looked around the place to try to find the doctor who he hoped would recognize somehow. Now he wished he paid more attention to the picture instead of her resume.

“Daddy, can you recognize the doctor?” asked Nitin.

“It is getting late for school, Daddy,” reminded Nithya.

“We will find the doctor, kids,” assured Prashanth.

Then he saw her step off the compartment with one large suitcase and two bags. She tossed the two bags on to the platform and carefully placed the suitcase. She got down, adjusted her red, white and black printed tunic, then her black scarf. She swung her backpack over one shoulder and pulled her belongings to the bench. She looked around for the person who was supposed to pick her up.

“There she is,” announced Prashanth, as he pulled the kids behind him towards the doctor.

“Are you sure, Daddy,” asked Nithya.

“Now I remember from the picture,” smiled Prashanth, very glad that his memory had not failed him.

As they approached the doctor, Prashanth suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach. His hands were suddenly sweaty. There stood an elegant lady, with such poise. Her posture relayed confidence yet a tad bit of vulnerability. Her light brown eyes looked warily around her yet didn’t show apprehension. Her hair was braided and hung over her left shoulder. She checked her watch before she looked up straight into the eyes of Prashanth.

They stared at each other for just a few seconds, he with amazement at the beauty in front of his eyes and she with suspicion.

When Nitin tugged at his hand, he awakened from his reverie.

“Dr. Mittur?” asked Prashanth.

“Yes. Are you from Mr. Kumar’s residence?” she asked.

“Yes, Dr. Mittur. I am Prashanth Kumar here to pick you up,” announced Prashanth. He saw a sparkle of surprise in her eyes when he told her his name. She smiled and looked towards the children.

“Namaste. I am Dr. Vandana Mittur. I am a bit surprised as I was expecting an elderly gentleman with dhoti and all instead of a denim clad er… younger man,” she said, coyly.

“Sorry to have disappointed you, doctor,” said Prashanth, annoyed that he sounded old on the telephone. “Are these all your belongings? Are there any more?”

“These are the only ones I could carry. More bags will arrive in a week,” she said, picking one of the bags.

“Doctor, if you don’t mind, can we hurry as I have to drop off the kids at school before we head home,” said Prashanth, picking the heavy suitcase and the second duffel bag.

“Most certainly. I hope I am not the cause of delay,” said Dr. Mittur, hurrying after the man and his kids who kept turning back to steal a glance of her. “Is the school far off from the station?” she shouted after him over the sound of the train whistle and hollering vendors. Her question went unanswered which made her realize that indeed the kids would be late for school. Without further inquiries, she picked up the pace in her stride after them.

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