Day 61: One Thing
Read: Psalm 27:4–6
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.
— Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Reflect
"One thing." David was a king with an army, a palace, a family, and plenty of enemies. He had a hundred things he could have asked for. He narrows it to one.
What is it? "That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life." The word is shivti, "my dwelling" — from the verb for sitting down, settling in to stay. It is the same verb as Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High." Once again, dwelling is the question.
Notice what the psalm does not list. Not safety, though he had enemies. Not success. Not answers. It lists a place, a person, and a gaze: the house of the LORD, the LORD himself, and the chance "to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD."
He wants to live where God is, and to look at him.
And notice the two verbs: "asked" and "seek after." David does not only make the request once and leave it there. He pursues it. The one thing gets his attention, his time, and his seeking.
Most of us live with a long list of wants, all pulling a little. The psalm does not shame that. It simply shows a better center — one thing that gathers the rest.
Across Scripture
Psalm 23 ends the same way: "I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:6). Psalm 91:1 begins with the one "who dwells in the shelter of the Most High." When Martha was anxious about many things, Jesus told her, "one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion" (Luke 10:42). And Paul wrote, "one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13).
Sit With It
If you could have only one thing, what would it be? Be honest. Then set your answer next to David's: a place, a person, and a gaze.
Pray
One thing I ask.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.