Morning Dew
Key Passage: Psalm 27
Key Word: Psalm 27:4 – “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple.”
In our 24/7, 365 days a year busy world it is becoming increasingly difficult to have time for things that one really loves doing, yet there is no greater time to set priorities and focus on the major things that matter in life. If you were marooned on an Island with no other person there to talk to and you were given the opportunity to take one thing with you. What would that thing be? Times of adversity have a way of focussing the mind on what’s important. Have you noticed that at the end of people’s lives they tend to simplify everything and choose who they spend time with? Have you noticed that at that stage they no longer play politics or care about how others feel? They simply clinically ask for certain people and carefully chose those who come near them to hear their last words. So in today’s reading we see one of the reasons why king David was so special.
No one knows exactly when David wrote this Psalm, but if you look at the words, it sounds like he was in a time of great difficulty. Perhaps as was the case for most of his life some of his enemies have risen against him. Right in the midst of all the pandemonium of impending attack, David focussed his heart and mind on what was most important to him. He focussed on the only One he knows has the power to bail him out. He focussed on the only One who is the giver of life.
These words are so powerful, he said “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple.” He did not ask for his throne to be secure. He did not ask for the life of his enemies. He did not even ask for his own life to be spared. He simply focussed on what gave him the most amount of joy and satisfaction and fulfilment. He chose one thing. Only One thing. To dwell in the house of the Lord and to behold His beauty and to enquire ion His temple. All David wanted was more fellowship with the Lord. All he truly desired was to gaze upon God’s beauty and to continue to marvel and ask questions from God on why He did what He did. He sought to know God more. He somehow knew that God would look after him, so he was not confused as to what he really lives for.
What is the one thing most important to you? Can I ask you to consider David? A man God described as a man after His own heart. David set God above all other pursuits. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says “ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
We are called to love God with all our hearts and minds and souls. Like David, let us learn to focus on the major and let the minor issues sort them self out. God must be number one and he is the only one we truly ever need.
Let’s pray: Father God, like David, I choose to set you on the highest point of my heart. I let everything else drop and set you as my chief pursuit in life. Thank you for helping me to recognise that you are all I really truly ever need. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.