Perspectives

Psalm 27:4-6… 4) 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. 5) 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. 6) Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy I will sing and make music to the LORD. (NIV)

All of us are seekers. Within all of us, there are those things we desire. We all have goals; we all have dreams. And we are all hopeful that those dreams may one day come true. However, there is nothing wrong asking ourselves whether the things which we seek are worth seeking? Some of those things we seek may not be in the Lord’s will for us. Some of those things may even hurt us were we to acquire them. We must carefully evaluate what we seek in light of the worth of that passion.  We must also ask ourselves the question of why we seek those things.

The fact is that all of us are involved in the living of life. But in the process, we find the challenges of life do not always go smoothly. The road of life has many a bump, many a pothole. And as we weave our way around the bumps and bruises, we find that some things, which we thought were important no longer, seem important. We come to understand that there is more to life than meets the eye. I believe it is fair to say that we all have some struggles and maybe even problems. Everywhere people are hurting and are in need. And what the world holds forth to meet those needs are only shallow substitutes of the real thing. It is the real things, which we are to seek. That should be our priority in this day. We must seek a Christian life style that honors both God and everyday people.

Who would have thought that King David was a man beset with the affairs of life? He had enjoyed some measure of success in his life, yet that success was not without its problems. Not only did David have personal problems, he also had community problems. On more than one occasion, there were people who were set against him, seeking to take his life. David knew what it was to struggle with the serious issues of life. But David also knew what it was important to seek and in this passage of Scripture, we see revealed for us life’s most important priority. We see here that one thing above all others after which we are to seek.

In John 15, Jesus emphasized over and over again the need for the believer to abide in Him. There is nothing sweeter than communion with Jesus Christ. As we see Him in prayer, through the reading of His Word, and through our daily walk with Him by faith, there comes a very real inner strength. It is an inner assurance that He loves us and that He is there for us. We come to understand the reality of His promise, that He would never leave us or forsake us. We come to know Him as our friend. There, really is nothing sweeter than a spiritual union with our Lord.

David said his goal was to seek the Lord. To gaze on the beauty of the Lord! David desired to enjoy the presence of God. He understood the value of taking time to enjoy his relationship with God. Many Christians are in such a hurry that we do not take to the time to enjoy the trip. What a waste it is when we reduce following the Lord to merely the fulfillment of certain duties. Following Jesus cannot and should not be reduced merely to Christian principles. Following Jesus is more than attending church, doing church work, giving our money, studying our Sunday School Lesson, and doing good works in the name of Christ. Those things ought to be done because of the joy we feel as we enjoy our relationship with Jesus Christ. We do good works and fulfill our responsibilities because we love the Lord. Unless we serve Christ out of this motivation, our service will soon become too heavy a burden for us the bear.

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name.” Amen