The older I get as a Christian the more I am convinced that the key to greater spirituality is found in meditating on the psalms. David was a man after God’s own heart. By letting our hearts speak these words which flowed from the heart of David, our hearts will become like David’s heart and at the same time become like the heart of God.
I am not sure which psalm appeals to you, for the one that appeals to me is determined by what is happening in my life as I read them. One important psalm answers the question, “David, what is the one thing you have desired of the Lord?” If I asked you the same question, how close would your answer be like the answer David gives in Psalm 27?
“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek…” Receiving from the Lord is dependent on our seeking His help in finding it. Our service to Him cannot be far down on our list of the most important things in our lives. The Bible speaks of “with all your heart” nine times in the book of Deuteronomy (4:29; 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 13:3; 26:16; 30:2, 6, 10) and each shows the importance of seeking Him with our all.
“…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…” It is likely that David’s house of the Lord was the tabernacle given at Sinai. It was a tent, yet David said that his desire above all things was to dwell in that house. God was there. How important is it in your life to be in His presence to worship Him?
“…all the days of my life…” As a young man who was facing Goliath, he looked back to past events which had happened and said, “God delivered me from the … lion and … the bear,” and then added, “He will deliver me…” (1 Sam. 17:37). He believed deeply in the providence of God as a youth and all the days of his life, even as an old man (Psa. 37:25).
“…to behold the beauty of the Lord…” David knew that it was in the house of the Lord he would be able, not just to glimpse at His beauty, but to behold it. We come into His house, to sit at the table of the Lord and view the most beautiful manifestation of the Lord as we commune with Him at the cross.
“…and to inquire in His temple.” We come into His temple and listen to Him speak His words to us in Bible classes and worship. Bible study by its very nature generates questions as we seek for deeper knowledge and the closest relationship we can have with Him. Every time, without fail, we inquire of Him and His will for our lives He gives the answer. The Creator of the world longs to have fellowship with us and provides the answers our souls seek in His temple.
How close does your one desire parallel the one thing David desired of the Lord? Think about your answer.