Desire

Wednesday January 28, 2026

Desire.  What is it that we truly want?  If we could have one thing, or be one place, or do one thing, what would that be?  As I meditate on yesterday’s psalm, I recall the portion that states, “I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in the temple” (Psalm 27:4).  This is a psalm of David, so remember, Solomon’s Temple had not been built yet.  We would still be in the time of the tabernacle.  As King of Israel, David would have had power, privileges, and possessions.  Yet, his one desire would be that he could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, gazing at Him and seeking Him.  It would have been the duty of the priest to be in the temple and tending to the work of it, and it would seek that David would have gladly switched places.  I know this is Old Testament, and the equivalent of the temple now would be our bodies, for that is where the Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19). God has given us a greater privilege than King David.  We do get to dwell in the house of the Lord all of our days, but do we desire that?  Sometimes when you have something all of the time, you get used to it, and don’t fully appreciate its value.  Notice what the desire of the psalmist leads to:  the psalmist knows that God will shelter him in the day of adversity (v.5), this leads the psalmist to know that his head will be high above his enemies around him (v.6), which causes the psalmist to say that he will offer sacrifices in God’s tent with shouts of joy (v.6), and that he will sing and make music to the Lord (v.6).  A couple more points to make.  When the psalmist describes offering a sacrifice, it is not described as laborious or burdensome; he offers it with shouts of joy!  Lastly, the worship that is being described results in the psalmist singing and making music to the Lord.  I don’t know about you, but when I am truly seeking the Lord, and drawing near to Him, my heart is satisfied and overflows, resulting in singing unto the Lord.  And it all begins with desire.