The Beauty of the Lord - Psalm 27:4

Thank you for grace, my brothers, and sisters in the Lord. I took a day of rest yesterday. Then this devotional required extra time spent with Him. I am refreshed and have something special that has been placed on my heart to share. I encourage you to press in. He wants time with you. God bless you. Let us pray.

My Father in heaven. Hallowed be Your name. I give You honor and praise. Your marvelous works are too numerous. Your power and Your majesty. You are ruler of all. King of kings and Lord of lords. With You, all things are possible. I submit myself, my mind, my body, my soul, and the things before me and take my time with You. You are worth it all. You have it all. Open my heart and mind to the truth of the beauty of the Lord in Psalm 27:4 and in my study with You. I want to know more. Thank you for hiding me away in the hedge of protection where I am protected from the evil one. Set my mind on things above. Forgive me for my trespasses as I forgive others. My heart is Yours. You are beautiful beyond measure. Please bless the devotion today and grant me Your vision in application for us today. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Our devotion today is focused on Psalm 27:4 (NKJV) which says,

"One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I 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 inquire in His temple."

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek

How I give God praise for this verse today. This bold statement: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek". The boldness of the psalmist shows confidence. For He knows our thoughts. My mind travels to Psalm 139, where David asks for God to search his heart. "You search me and know me". Even during the time of the writing of Psalm 27, there were so many other concerns that David had on his mind. Don't our lives sometimes look like this too? Filled with broken lives and other situations requiring prayer around us in family, friends, and communities. Yet David writes...

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek

David's request is in three requests...

1.      live with You in the house of the Lord ALL of the days of my life

2.      behold the beauty of the Lord

3.      inquire in His temple

The magnificent house of the Lord from tabernacle to your heart

Remember in John 14:2 (NKJV) when Jesus says "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." Yet hundreds before John walked with Jesus, David knew that His Father had a place for him to dwell for all of the days of His life. David had experienced the presence of God in 1 Chronicles 16 after the ark of the covenant was brought up. With priests and musicians continually ministering before the ark, offerings done, God was there. David worshipped with abandon. David's request to live with God is our heart's cry when we accept our Lord and ask Him into our hearts. Praise God that we can worship before Him with that same freedom wherever we are because we are the tabernacle of God. His dwelling place is in us. His Holy Spirit deposit when we believe is exactly that... a dwelling place with Him forever. Praise God for His faithfulness!

Beholding the beauty of the Lord and His Holiness

Then I consider the beauty of the Lord in the psalm and study scriptures on beauty. Two distinct types of beauty are shown. There is beauty that fades and can be corrupted. But the beauty of the Lord and the beauty of His Holiness is eternal and incorruptible. Hallelujah! But there is so much more.

In Exodus 34:29-35, the beauty of the presence of the Lord was seen on Moses’s face as he brought the 10 commandments down from Mount Sinai and from the presence of God. His face radiated because he had been with God. God's holiness reflected and radiated out to be seen by the people. Moses eventually placed a veil on after he spoke with the people and continued to veil his face outside the presence of God. The thing is that after Jesus saved us, our hearts are sealed with the presence of the Holy Spirit, God's presence, upon confession of our faith as stated in Ephesians 1:13. Can we radiate the beauty of the Lord, His presence, and His holiness with this deposit in us?

YES!! The Word of God answers our question in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NKJV) where it reads,

 "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech-- unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the spirit of the Lord."

We walk unveiled sharing boldly our testimony of the One who saved us, having died for us while we were yet sinners. And the past, the "end of what was passing away" as stated in verse 13, what is this? The things that keep us from freedom in Him including religiosity and legalism are being ended so we can live as God intended, shining the Light of Christ and sharing His love to the ends of the earth.

Inquiring of God in His temple is only a prayer away

I sense a call from God to my heart and perhaps you feel it to... are there areas of your heart and life that have not been fully surrendered to Him to the light of His Holy Spirit to heal, correct, and make straight paths, so that His light can be radiated fully without any filters or veils? Please pray with me.

Lord, I love You. I surrender all of myself and those areas that I have hidden away to You. I ask for Your continual fire to burn away anything that is not You. I praise You as I am Yours and only want to shine Your light and love in my life. Let anything else be burned away, leaving Your presence, Your beauty, to shine as I serve my family, friends, church, and community. I give You the continual praise and glory that You are due. In Jesus Name. Amen.