Thoughts on Scripture

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The title of this post may sound a little deceiving if you read the introduction, but bear with me and read on. I promise it is not deceiving.

In the preceding verses of Psalm 27, David describes how his relationship with God allows him to face fearful situations in a fearless way. He does not fear when people slander him; he does not fear even when an army pursues him; he remains confident even if war breaks out against him. As he wrote in another psalm,

When I am afraid, I will trust in You. (Psalm 56:3)

It’s not that he never experienced the pains of fear. It is a matter of taking those fears to God. He knew God will be a light to him when he was unsure of his way, “The Lord is my light…” He knew God will save him and be his refuge and stronghold.

As we continue reading the psalm we see a beautiful desire in David’s heart –a desire which is the fruit of his relationship with God. In fact, he says he has only one desire and this is all that he seeks:

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 (verse 4)

Only someone who has a special relationship with God and who has discovered the beautiful nature of the Lord will express a desire like this one to be his only desire. The desire to be with someone comes only from love. Being in God’s presence was David’s favourite place.

So, how do we dwell in the house of the Lord? Is He only found in an architectural structure? Surely God is bigger than that! Although we may find Him in a church, there are also “houses of the Lord” where He says He is no longer dwelling in because of hypocrisy (see Jeremiah 7 for an example). So that’s no guarantee. The Bible says He fills this entire universe with His presence. He says heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool. “Where then is this house you will build for me?” Can we build a house to “fit in” a God according to those dimensions?

Jesus said that a time has come where it doesn’t matter where we worship God. In this present time it matters that our worship engages our hearts and souls. So the question is no longer where we worship but how we worship. There we will be in His presence –in true worship. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. We may have different ways of entering into His presence, but, as long as we seek Him in truth, we will find Him to be very near. For some, singing brings them into the presence of God. For others, it may be sharing His word. For me, I found that I experience His presence in a special way when I study His word and listen to devotional music. I know of people who find Him especially close when they are in nature and meditating on His word. There may be some who experience Him in all of the above ways. The important thing is that we desire His presence with all our hearts and we will find Him. He is everywhere!

Why desire to be in God’s presence? For David, being in God’s presence means safety “In the day of trouble He will keep me safe…” Here he will be hidden and here he will have his dignity restored. Our troubles in life can strip us of all dignity and we may start to doubt our value as a human being, but in God’s presence, things get put in their proper perspective and here we learn that God’s view of us is not determined by what others say about us. God makes up His own mind about us. We matter to Him. We matter so greatly that He counts even the hairs on our heads.

David concludes this portion by saying that the knowledge of what God does for us when we seek His face, results in joy. In psalm 16 he writes that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy. We take our troubles to the Lord, but we also take our songs of thanksgiving to Him. “At His sacred tent I will sacrifice…”

When we fully understand what God has done for us, what we sacrifice for Him will be an act of love and gratitude and not a wearisome obligation.

So here I ask again: Where’s your favourite place? I love Cape Town and I consider myself privileged to live here. It’s a relaxing pace of life and I wouldn’t like to live anywhere else on this earth, but there is a place which I love in a way that far exceeds Cape Town. The presence of the Lord is my favourite place, no matter where He chooses it to be. But I still hope to desire His presence in the way that David did: This only do I seek….

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