Living In God's Presence Always

One thing I ask from Yahweh,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of Yahweh
and to meditate in the temple.

• Psalm 27:4

For a couple of reasons it’s strange to think of David praying that he could sleep and eat in the Temple every day. First off, it’s just not a reasonable thing to do - there was no kitchen there, his family couldn’t join him there, etc. It wasn’t a living situation. It was a nice idea, but not very practical. But there’s another even more obvious reason that this is a symbolic prayer for David: the Temple had not been built yet! (it was Solomon, David’s son, who built the Temple).

So let’s step back and think about what David is really praying here. Maybe this is a lot bigger than just asking to move a twin bed into the church narthex. This is asking for the grace to see our entire day and our entire world as God’s temple. Every hour as a worship service. Every building as a sanctuary. Every meal as communion. And every moment as an invitation ‘to gaze upon the beauty of Yahweh.’

Wow.

May every breath you breathe today be one of those cleansing breaths that lead you back to center, back to worship. May every person you meet be your pastor, your parishioner. And may every step lead you to the cross of our Savior.