Singleminded

 April 15, 2021

“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.” —Psalm 27:4

I don’t believe I’ve ever been completely singleminded about anything in life. On the positive side, there is so much that interests me; on the negative, so much that distracts me. This creates a significant problem. The Bible tells me that our God is a jealous God, and will not tolerate rivals for our affections and loyalty. 

David was far from perfection. He was an adulterer, a murderer, a terrible father. He made many mistakes as a man and as a ruler. Somehow in spite of all that, he knew where his strength lay, and sought its Source with unwavering determination. He was a warrior king, but his heart’s desire was to be a priestly king—to dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of his life. 

At our men’s prayer group this morning, this psalm led the way into our intercession. David spoke of all his enemies amassed against him, and his confidence in facing them. That confidence came from the time he spent in the house of the LORD. In that house, he not only found quiet contemplation, but the company of fellow seekers, of priests and Levites, of others who came to offer sacrifices. There would have been crowds of people, sheep bleating, cattle bellowing, blood and smoke, an intoxicating mix of sounds, smells, and sights. There, he was not king, but part of the crowd, needing redemption, seeking guidance, offering praise.

In verse 7-8, we read, “”Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” He called with his voice, but it was the response of his heart that mattered. God commands us to seek him, not out of duty, guilt, or compulsion, but from the heart. My heart, as Jeremiah said, “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” needing to be transformed and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit. By myself, my heart would not seek him, so I thank God that the Good Shepherd continues to search the hillsides for his lost sheep, and never fails to find the wandering ones. 

“Lord, give me a pure heart, 100% devoted to you. Forgive my wandering ways. Thank you for your house where with others, I can come seeking you. When we seek you together, we help each other through those times of stumbling and weakness so that from the heart we can seek the One who has sought and found us.”