One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. [⁵For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.] —Psalm 27:4 [5]
When our kids were little, my parents took us to Williamsburg, VA for a fall getaway. There was more to do there than we could cram into three days, so Dad asked each of us, “What’s your one thing?” He wanted to know what rose to the top of our wish list. For Steve it was visiting nearby Jamestown. Our daughter asked for a horse-drawn carriage ride. And our eldest son, who was seven at the time, said, “Putt-putt!”
Our “one things” were merely our priorities for a weekend vacation. But David’s one thing was the central purpose of His entire life. He longed to be with the Lord, to inquire of Him, and to worship Him in his appointed place of worship. For David, that was the tabernacle, and after him, the temple.
We can no longer make a pilgrimage to that physical place, because the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. But also, we no longer need to. Jesus, our faithful High Priest and Mediator, opened the way to God for all who believe in Him and pray in His name (Hebrews 4:14-16). We can seek the Lord whenever, wherever we are. God anticipates and is attentive to our cries (2 Chronicles 16:9). Jesus said, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
Still, He wants us to ask. We have access to the Father, through the Son, continually. This is why Paul could exhort us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can go to the Lord directly. We don’t need a human priest to pray on our behalf. And we don’t need to be in a designated place in Jerusalem to do it. Ought we not to be even more committed to seeking the Lord than David was?
God is with us who belong to Him by faith in Christ. It's amazing, and yet that’s not all. We are His temple. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you.” (John 15:4) Another word for abide is dwell. Jesus promised to send His Holy Spirit to help those who belong to Him, to the point of taking up residence in them. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
We must not neglect such a massive privilege. David hoped to achieve his life goal of dwelling with God, and made it his aim to try, seeking the Lord under the old covenant. Under the new covenant, we can seek with glorious certainty:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, those who are trusting in Him have no barriers to seeking the Lord! And yet, how many of us spend our lives chasing one fleeting thing, or an ever changing series of things, that will pass away? Let us, like David, consider our singular purpose. And may we strive to live for the only thing that will last forever.
For Reflection
Have you stopped to ask yourself, what is my “one thing”?
If you’re a list maker with to-do items and priorities mapped out one, five, or even 10 years into the future, what are the things you’re focusing on? If you’re more spur-of-the-moment, what things tend to get your attention each day?
Whatever your approach to planning and spending your time, ask God to make Him your one thing over all the other things that fill your days and make up your life.
Candice Watters is a wife, homeschooling mom, and editor of the Fighter Verses blog. She and her husband Steve are the parents of four young adults, and co-authors of Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies. They live in Louisville, KY.