One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple. – Psalm 27:4
As a boy we used wooden pencils. I never saw a ball-point pen until I was in Jr. High School. And I’ve had a fascination with pens ever since. I thought it was great that you never had to sharpen your writing instrument. Back then all the boys carried pocket knives, and I can remember many times whittling my pencil down to a fine point. Although crude, this serves to illustrate what David did with his life–“One thing have I desired” he said. In other words, he is telling us what is at the top of his list.
That reminds me of what Paul said in Phil. 3:13, “–this one thing I do–“. It also reminds me of what I should do, what all Christians should do. We need to cut away everything that doesn’t contribute to our main purpose in life, whittle away all the excess until our focus is on the main thing. That doesn’t mean that we never reserve any time for R&R, after all that can contribute to us being at our best. But it means that we never allow other things to crowd out the most important thing–the “one thing” that is of first importance. That’s a big problem for most people.
Most of us have too many irons in the fire. Remember the old saying,”Jack of all trades and a master of none”? That describes a lot of folks. Many are like Martha in the kitchen–busy, busy, busy! They are so busy doing things, even good things, that they neglect the most important thing –the “one thing” that they should be focused on. Those people are usually frustrated and miserable, and they tend to make others feel the same way. This would be a good time for us to pause and think about our priorities. What is the “one thing” for which you live?
