David wrote in Psalm 27:4, “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.” When David expressed the desire to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, he didn’t mean that he wanted to live in a church all the time. What he really wanted was to sense God’s presence in his life all the time. His one thing was his relationship with God.
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8, “…everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Once again, we see Paul had one thing more important than anything else in his life. His one thing was his relationship with Jesus.
All of us have busy lives. Much of our time is consumed by activities we have to do. We have to work to support ourselves and those we love. We have to make meals, clean clothes, fix things around our homes, and the list goes on. How we live in God’s presence while doing the things we have to do is a discussion for another time.
My question for today is, “What do we do with our discretionary time?” What do we do with our free time that we get to choose how to spend it? Whether a small amount of time or a large amount of time, how we choose to spend it defines the priorities of our heart. So many things can appear to be absolutely necessary: time for us, time to decompress, time to have fun, time to rest, and many others.
However, David and Paul would tell us there is one thing more important than all those things that appear to be so necessary – our relationship with God.
We don’t get to choose how we spend all of our time, but we do get to choose how we spend some of our time. I encourage you to make your relationship with God the one thing more important than everything else.
In doing that one thing, having an intimate relationship with God, you will find everything you really need and truly desire. Listen to your heart. What is your one thing for 2023? Who do you say I am?
