One thing I have asked from the Lord

Psalm 27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
² When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³ Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.

⁴ 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.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶ And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
¹² Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

The psalmist, thousands of years before Jesus was born, says:  The Lord is my light and my salvation. In John 8:12 Jesus says:  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” In John 14:6 He says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  We, who live now and have seen and heard Jesus, should also say: The Lord is my light and my salvation.  1 John 1:5-9 says:  God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The psalmist says:  Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.  Romans 8:31-39 says:  If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...   But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In Matthew 28:28 Jesus says:   “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The psalmist says:  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.  What are the things that we ask of God? What do we seek? Do we ask that He would meet our needs, our desires, even our greed, or do we simply desire to dwell with Him and behold His beauty? Philippians 4:11-13 says:  I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.Regardless of our situation and circumstances, are we content in Christ?

The psalmist says:  I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.  We have a promise of an eternal reward in Christ. We also though should not despair, because we also have His promises for this life. In John 10:10 Jesus says:  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  Jesus taught us to pray saying:  “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We are to live in the abundance of Christ, here and now. We are to have all that is ours in heaven, here on earth. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  Not only are we to have and enjoy the abundance of the kingdom of heaven on earth. We are also to be vessels, carrying the abundance and the realities of heaven to earth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, One thing I ask, 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. I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. May I know the abundance of the kingdom of heaven here on earth and may I be a vessel of the kingdom of heaven to the earth. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, both in and through my life. Amen.