One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall 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 meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4

One Thing – What is the most important thing in life? What must be the absolute goal if life is to be worth living? Before you quickly supply an answer about the relationship with God, consider what the world would say. If you asked the average person what’s the most important thing in life, what do you think you would hear? Undoubtedly, you would listen to the same list of priorities found in Ecclesiastes – with the same result. In the very end, it’s either God or a gun to the head. With Ecclesiastes’ observation in mind, let’s look once more at David’s single-minded focus.

“One thing I have asked from the Lord.” In Hebrew: akhat sha’alti meet-YHWH. The first word is from ehad. You’ll recognize it in the Shema. The Lord is one. Of course, if we were doing rabbinic exegesis, we would connect these two instances of the word. The one thing I ask is from the one Lord. In fact, I ask for the Lord’s uniqueness in me.

Sha’ul paints the pictograph of control, strength and what consumes. In other words, to ask is to control the strength of what consumes – to have authority over someone or something that can provide what you want. If you’re going to ask the Lord, then you better know what you really want. He can provide, of course, but you are presuming on His benevolence by asking, so you must be sure that what you ask is worthy of the request. David understands this, so he asks what the Lord cannot deny – he asks for time in the presence of the One. David desires one thing. He desires to be with the One true God.

Did you notice that the most important thing in David’s life is not the accumulation of stuff, the preservation of power or the reputation among peers? The most important thing isn’t even a relationship with a personal savior. David’s one thing is to be where the Lord is and to contemplate who the Lord is. There is nothing here about asking for me. The entire focus is on worshipping God in His presence.

Our age is defined by its passionate preoccupation with self. Even in our religion, the focus is often on what God can do for me. It might not be as naïve (or heretical) as the prosperity gospel crowd, but it is ever-so-subtle to turn even religious zeal into self-improvement. We want God to make us better servants for His cause or to improve our understanding of His word or to develop our spiritual gifts for the church. Even with God-language, the focus is still on us. But not for David! David just wants to be in God’s presence, to delight in God’s glory and to meditate on the goodness of the Lord. Don’t you suppose that God will honor such a request without delay? What could please Him more? I turn away from the frightening clamor of those deep, dark recesses within me by shifting my focus from me to Him. Want out of the dungeon? Follow the light.

Topical Index: ehad, sha’al, ask, one, Psalm 27:4