Psalm 27:4
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.
What one thing do you most want from God today? Everyone in
your house to be cheerful? An uninterrupted night’s sleep? A calm mind that isn't whirling with anxiety?
In this verse we see the 'one thing' that David wants from
God: to be where God is (dwell in his house) and to see him as he is (gaze upon his beauty). Really, David? You're facing a besieging army, and you want to sit around gazing at God all day?! Surely that's not going to help! It seems impractical and irrelevant, given the serious problems he faces. We might think he should be asking for something bigger - mighty deliverance from his enemies, perhaps?
Yet, there IS nothing bigger. This is the biggest, boldest,
most audacious request a sinful man could ever make of a holy God. "I just want to be with you, Lord, even though you are so holy that no-one can stand in your presence and live. I just want to gaze on your beauty, even though it's so dazzling that even Moses was only allowed a glimpse of your back as you passed
by."
It should be unthinkable – people like us, living with God. If the idea doesn’t shock us, it's only because we're so familiar with the
gospel. What David wants is utterly impossible. Yet, because of the death of Jesus it IS possible. We will one day live where God is and see him as he is in all his glory. Even now, we know that
God's Spirit lives with us, and we have - in his word - more than enough glimpses of his beauty to gaze on and treasure for a lifetime.
So, today, by all means ask God for sleep and peace and rest
and everything else that feels important. He is our heavenly father who wants us to bring all our needs and concerns to him. But let's also praise and thank him for the extraordinary gift of being able to live in his presence. And pray that he would change our hearts to be more like David's heart, so that we would recognise just how precious this gift is and would value it above every other
thing we will ever ask for.
