ONLY ONE THING!

Psalms 27:4 NIV
[4] “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.”

What a good thing to be single-minded, especially about God!

Some people are single-minded about worldly pursuits… like money, or sexual experiences, or pleasure, or even happiness! They go hard after these things, only to find that “enough” is always just beyond their reach.

To be single-minded in one’s pursuit of God is a two-way street. He hides Himself from those whose desire is half-hearted, insincere, or for selfish gain. He sometimes works incognito to achieve His purposes without interference, keeping from us the awareness of His presence to build our faith.

Isaiah 45:15 NIV
[15] “Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel.”

God hid Himself from His people for many years, about 400 years to be exact. He went silent on them…never did anything or said a word, so it seemed, between Malachi and Matthew. He left them to their own devices but…He was working behind the scenes all the time.

God chooses when and to whom He reveals Himself, regardless of where or how hard we seek to find Him.

Jeremiah 29:13-14 NIV
[13] “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. [14] I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Thus…God’s promise to His people after He had exiled them from their homeland for seventy years, for their stubborn disobedience and idolatry.

The Apostle Paul was aware of this fact when he wrote,

Galatians 4:4 NLT
[4] “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.”

God was quietly preparing His people and the world for the greatest event in history, when He came in person to rescue us.

With a flourish, the angel announced to Joseph, Mary’s intended, before Jesus was born, reminding him of the promise God made to His people centuaries before…

Matthew 1:23 NLT
[23] “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

No, God is never distant from His creation or separated from His purposes. How can He be when He is everywhere? He Himself informed Jeremiah…

Jeremiah 23:23-24 NLT
[23] “Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. [24] Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.”

God chooses to whom He will reveal Himself either by tangible signs as He did to Paul on the road to Damascus, or by the quiet, inner assurance that He is always near.

So, what’s the secret of knowing God’s presence? What can we do to induce God to reveal Himself to us, especially in times of distress when He seems far away? How can we not only be aware of but also live in His presence, taking shelter in Him from the storms of life, and contemplating His glory against the backdrop of a wicked world? How can we keep our balance when everything around us is shaking?

Strangely enough, God gives us the initiative to seek Him, not the other way around.

James 4:7-8 NLT
[7] “So, humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

The Word gives us the simple steps that allow us to seek and find the Lord, and to enjoy the wonder of His person and presence continually. We have no need to beg Him to reveal Himself to us. He has done that in abundant measure through Jesus, our Immanuel.

First, He calls us to turn away from sin, from our stubborn independence that leads us away from Him, and to approach Him boldly through the blood of His Son.

Hebrews 10:19-20, 22 NLT
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
[22] Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

There is no other way to access God’s presence but through Jesus.

Second, we must draw near to Him by faith. We must both trust and act on His promise.

Hebrews 11:6 NLT
[6] “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

Third, as citizens of heaven, by faith we live in the realm of Jesus’ place and rule in His kingdom even as we conduct our daily lives on this fallen planet and in its corrupted systems.

Colossians 3:1-3 NLT
[1] “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [2] Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. [3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Do you get it, dear child of God? Unlike David, who expressed a longing to live in the sanctuary where God was present, we are the dwelling place, the holy temple of God, right now.

1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?…”

No need to desire, long for, or seek God’s presence. He is already in us by His Spirit. Once again, all we need is to change our perspective…to grow our awareness by faith, that we are in God and that He is in us and to gaze, contually, at Jesus. Slowly, as we gaze, we are being transformed into His likeness!

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
[18] “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

God’s presence isn’t hit and miss according to our experiences and emotions. He us with us and in us forever, right now.