“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” – Psalm 27:4
We all know David was known as a man after God’s own heart. It wasn’t in his conquests that my spirit affirms that reputation. In contrast, it seems affirmed through statements like the one found in vs. 4. David got it. So the question is, got what?
It.
He knew it was bigger than our own kingdom and pursuits. It was bigger than our successes and failures. It was bigger than position and authority.
It, for David, was simply dwelling with God. He truly valued it. It wasn’t something he had to do once a week (or whenever). He saw it as the gift of God, the ability to dwell with him, and then do… well… whatever we do. Dwell, gaze, seek, become.
The Hebrew word for “beauty” means delight, suitableness, splendor, grace, or pleasantness. This is How David considered the greatness, mystery, and power of God, as beautiful. He wanted to gaze upon him and just soak it in. To just adore him.
Awesome.
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You and David have IT right. It sort of like telling someone why you are marring your wife. You really can't put it into words. It is a feeling you just have. The IT here is something that is the best feeling in the world. You know when you are truly in God's presence. You know when you are dwelling with Him. You know when you are just in step with God. There is not a study sheet to fill out. There are not notes to take. There are not numbers to record and report. You are just there. You just have IT. I have started calling it Tree Hugger Mentality. You just are in the right place at the right time of the day and week and month and you are just there. When you get IT you know you have IT. The thing that we, at least me, struggle with is I don't stay there. I sin. I fall. I take my eye off of God. I do what sinful man does, I sin. David was the same way. Otherwise the whole bathtub roof incident would not have taken place along with others in his life. I think the over all desire to dwell with God is one that comes from our true home being with God in Heaven. There is not another feeling in our system like having IT and being with God. We are wired to want it. Knowing what IT feels like keeps me going.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking even more about this posting from Psalm 27. I'd like to add another word to "it".
ReplyDeleteLet's add the word "enough".
God is enough. Dwelling with him is enough. His mission and his ways are enough. Finding contentment and security in that reality would be our greatest discovery.
Good Morning Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI am not the type of person to let people know what I am feeling inside but here I am at 6:28am on Monday morning, blogging. In Psalm 28 I can't help but to smile (even this early in the morning) and verse 7 when it says "the lord is my strength and my shield." I have never thought of God as the one who shields me even though he does it continently. I just thought my students about a cavity shield and what we can do to "shield" away bad things to prevent harming our teeth.
God is my shield. He his my protector everyday and I can't imagine all of the earthly things he shields us from that we don't even know about....
Have a great day. -Stephanie Hall