Verse: Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
Devotion
This Psalm always inspires me. There is something about David’s longing for the presence of God in the middle of a stressful time that resonates with me.
He begins the Psalm, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” That poetic redundancy is a typical Hebrew literary technique to emphasize a point. In other words, he really truly believes that with God at his side, he has nothing to fear. And this is coming from someone who is regularly being surrounded by actual enemies trying to kill him.
This is something we can bring into our daily lives. No matter the pressure you are feeling at school, no matter the relational conflict or confusion you are feeling, no matter the frustration with your work (or coworkers!), help is literally just a second away.
I wonder, how often do we worship when we are stressed? How often do we worship when we are frustrated? Or when we are angry, disappointed, upset, annoyed, and so on?
Maybe right now in your life there is “one thing” you need—the presence of your loving Savior. “One thing I ask…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…to gaze on the beauty of the Lord.”
I would challenge you today, make some room to worship Jesus. Maybe listen to a worship song (and sing along even if you don’t think you can sing!) in the car today. Or put some worship in your headphones while you work out. Or pray a prayer of worship (or pray this Psalm!) when you have a moment alone. I wonder how worshipping would affect your day, and if like David you’ll be able to say, “whom shall I fear?”
Author: Christian Dunn
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