Psalm 27

My reading today in Psalm 27 contains a much quoted verse of scripture in the first verse. "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?" is a verse I've heard used many times by numerous authors and pastors. As I've read through the rest of this chapter, I've seen there is so much more to this chapter than just the first verse. The verse that grabbed my attention and I read several times is verse 4.


"One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple."

David writes here of his one desire. The only desire he has is to dwell in the house of God all the days of his life. He longs to see the beauty of the Lord and to spend time with him. As we continue reading this chapter, we see the results of seeking God above all else in our life. When we are in trouble, God will protect us when we are seeking Him. He sets us in high places of protection. When in battle, the higher ground always has the advantage. You are able to see the enemy approaching from miles away and are able to prepare for battle. The same occurs for us when we are spending time with God and seeking Him above all else. He opens our eyes to see when the enemy is approaching and He prepares us for spiritual battle.

Seeking God above all else allows us to stand tall in the face of our enemies. It is easy to read this and immediately picture the face of someone you consider your enemy. However, we only have one true enemy. A person is never our enemy. Flesh is not our enemy. The lies of satan is our enemy. Satan is who deceives people with his lies and they in turn behave in ways not intended for them by God. They make choices that are ungodly, and in turn can cause us pain and hurt. When we are actively seeking God, we are able to recognize when satan is at work and God helps us to hold our heads high even when people have harmed us. Though the pain of hurt, our closeness to God allows us to continue to praise Him. We not only offer our sacrifice of praise, but we can do so with joy!

When God instructed God to seek His face, David replied not only with his head or his words, but with his heart. It was not out of knowledge that he sought after God, but with all of his heart. He pleaded for God to never forsake him or turn away from him. Even if his parents forsake him, he knows he can survive it all as long as God is still with him. Our world is full of hurting people because so many of us have idols in our lives. An idol is so much more than a statue we offer prayers to. An idol is ANYTHING that is placed in higher position in our lives over God. This can be our children, husband, friends, jobs, money, sports teams, or even our position with our churches. If we are serving in order to simply maintain a title or position of respect within the church, this can become an idol. Are you serving simply to be seen or respected or are you serving out of your love for God. Do you serve only where it's convenient (i.e. short amount of time commitment required) or are you serving where God is calling you? (I feel like I've digressed greatly here, but perhaps there is someone who needed to hear this).

In verse 13, David writes he would have lost heart had he not believed in the goodness of God. He believed in God's goodness because God was all he was seeking. No matter what happened to David, he could praise God because he knew God was his strength. The God of David is the same God who wants a relationship with you. The same strength given to David can be given to you. The same joy of David can invade and take over your heart. The first step is to seek Him. I pray you take time this weekend to seek God. Turn off the television. Drown out the chaos around you, and seek Him. No matter where you currently are in your walk, you can seek Him. If you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, today would be a great day. If you've accepted Him in your life before, but have strayed, it's a great day to come home. If satan has been telling you it's not possible to spend time with God after all you've done, today is the day to stop believing that lie. God loves you no matter what and He's waiting for you to seek Him....above all else.