“Seeking God”

“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 (NIV)

               King David tells us a lot in these half dozen lines. He regularly asks God to allow him to fix his eyes on the Lord’s beauty and to approach God in His throne room. The shepherd king gives us in the 21st Century some guidelines to follow as we learn to grow in the Lord.

               Seek Have you ever lost something precious to you, a ring or another piece of jewelry? When I lost a ring I deemed a mother’s ring. Its front was fashioned to look like the Robert Indiana sculpture, LOVE. In the letter “O,” it had my son’s birthstone in it. I retraced my footsteps in our area; I posted “lost” notices at work about it. I wanted to find that ring because of what it represented.

                Sometimes, we have to spend quantity time in prayer in order to receive God’s answers. A friend once said she had to pray about some needs for 30 days before she would receive an answer. But she was one of the most prayed-up people I have known.

               Dwell, simply stated means “live” but it also seems to have a deeper meaning. As I see it, if a person dwells in a place, he or she is living there for quite a few years.  David asks to live in God’s house all the days allotted to him. (See also Psalm 23:6)

               Gaze to gaze means to look for an extended time. When I am in deep thought, Hubby will notice me staring and ask, “What are you looking at?” Do you remember playing the game where you would stare at someone until one of you blinked?

               Beauty God’s beauty has been called His Glory, or His Splendor. It is all around us. We anticipate the beauty of His creation each year as we look forward to the change of seasons. When we moved into our house, at the end of one October, there sat a lilac bush just outside our back door. A late frost got the buds that next spring.  I had to wait for 18 months to discover the Lilac bush was a White Lilac. To me, it was the most beautiful bush I had ever seen. The fact that my bush sprouted white flowers was a surprise. I believe that was part of its beauty.

               Seek Let us search for what God wants us to have for our lives. Just as we look for lost items, let us look at where we are and where we want to be in Him.