One Thing

Psalm 27:4 ESV says, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

We cannot escape the beauty and majesty of the Lord. To see him is to see glory itself. Sometimes we think we do not have enough time to seek God in this way. I want to remind you that if anyone had more important things to do than sit around in the temple, it was King David who wrote this verse. He was challenged on every side by countless enemies. He had an entire kingdom to rule and no shortage of problems to deal with. If you read the story of David, you do not get the sense that he lived in any way an idle life.

Yet his desire to be in the temple of the Lord was not built on boredom. He did not show up because there was nothing better to do. We remember that David says in Psalm 119:23 ESV that “even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.”

For David, the priorities were flipped. While any wise king would be sure to be in the battle room with his generals in the face of a threat, David chose to meditate on the words of the Lord.

David was not being reckless but wise. He understood that it was not he who fought the battles to victory but the Lord. Remember what he also said in Psalm 16:8 ESV? He said, “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

What can we learn from David?

This simple devotion transforms our lives. We might not face enemies on the battlefield, but we have a spiritual enemy who wages war on the minds of the believers. Satan comes at us every day with lies and temptation, and our flesh rises up to gratify its desires every day. No leadership conference or personal strategy can overcome a lack of abiding and intimacy with God.

The truth is that most of us already have everything we need to live a godly life. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that God has already given us divine power. What we lack then is not the tools to live in freedom but the willingness to make God our only objective.

This is the challenge of abiding. God freely gives his Spirit, but deep freedom comes when we become like David and make him our one thing.

Do you desire him today? You do not have to say yes to this question. The best answer is an honest answer. Perhaps a better question is, do you want to desire him today?

I pray that God would lead you through today as you have opportunities to seek him and make him your one thing.

Be blessed.

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