Psalm 27:4 “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.”
All of us are seekers. Within all of us there are those things which we desire. We all have goals; we all have dreams. And we are all hopeful that those dreams may one day come true.
What is it you seek? Are the things which we seek worth seeking? Some of the things we seek may not be what the Lord desires for us. Some of those things may even hurt us were we to acquire them. So, we must be careful to evaluate what we seek in light of the worthiness of that thing. We must also ask ourselves the question of why we seek those things.
The fact is that all of us are involved in the living of life. But in the process, we find that things don’t always go smoothly. The road of life has many a bump, many a pothole. And as we weave our way around the hairpin curves and over the steep hills, we find that some things which we thought were important no longer seem so important. We come to understand that there is more to life than meets the eye.
All of us struggle and have problems. Everywhere people are hurting and are in need. And what the world holds forth to meet those needs are only shallow substitutes of the real thing.
It is the real thing for which we are to seek. That should be our priority in this day. We must seek that which will make life worth living.
David was a man beset with the circumstances of life. He had enjoyed some measure of success in His life, yet that success was not without its problems. Not only did David have personal problems, but he also had people problems. On more than one occasion there were people who were set against him, seeking to take his life. David knew what it was to struggle with the serious issues of life. But David also knew what it was important to seek. And in this passage of Scripture, we see revealed for us life’s most important priority. We see here that one thing above all others after which we are to seek.
What should be the focus of our search? Well, it should be the same thing as that for which David was seeking. That was communion with God. Above all else, David desired to be in the presence of God. He knew that he could find strength in His presence. He knew that “In His presence there is fullness of joy.”
From the context of this passage of Scripture, we understand that David had been facing some difficult circumstances. There were those who were against him, who opposed him on every hand, who did not wish to see him in any position of rule in the kingdom. Consequently, they made war against him and fought him constantly. Some of his opposition was extremely formidable, and it was enough to cause any man to be afraid. David was under a lot of stress. Yet in the midst of this, he knew where to turn.
He knew that in God’s presence, he would find the strength and spiritual stamina he needed to face these trying situations in life.
This is an important lesson for us. We must also realise that it is only in God’s presence where we find the strength to face the affairs of life. Just as in the midst of the parched desert of daily living David found an oasis in God’s presence, so also can we. The aim of our heart ought to be to desire to seek God’s presence in our lives. We must desire intimate, daily communion with Him because it is only in that life of communion that we will have our needs met.
Isaiah 40:31 “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
As we eagerly wait upon the Lord, basking in His presence, enjoying communion with Him, the promise is that we will renew our strength. Actually, in the original, it says that we will “exchange” our strength. The idea is that through communion with God, we trade our strength for His. Then we can mount up with wings as eagles. Then we can run and not grow weary. Then we can walk and not faint.