The Christian Hedonist’s Playbook (Part 3)
One of my greatest temptations as a single has been to place my hope in the promise of a spouse and not in the God who designed marriage for His glory. That, of course, is only one struggle among many in which idols of the heart have attempted to usurp the rightful place of Jesus Christ. It is in the midst of struggles like these that reading and memorizing the Psalms has become invaluable. They speak to the heart of my problem and call me to seek refuge in God alone.
We’ll limit ourselves to just one verse today:
I love how David’s example encourages me to have singleness of heart. There are, of course, many good things I can desire from the Lord. However, when all is said and done what I really need is nothing less than God Himself. If I can just see and savor the beauty of His glory (which we now know is most clearly revealed in the crucified Savior), I will be satisfied “all the days of my life.”
In the course of this life, suffering is a certainty. During these times of trial, all other false gods will fail me (whether they be people or situations or possessions or anything else). I will need something much more trustworthy to carry me safely through the storm. And that’s what dwelling in the house of the Lord and beholding His beauty does for me, as the next verse explains: “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
I love the imagery of Christ being the rock of my sufficiency. That’s one reason why The Solid Rock is one of my favorite hymns. I’ll end this post by quoting verse 3, which I am particularly fond of:
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
We’ll limit ourselves to just one verse today:
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.
(Psalm 27:4)
I love how David’s example encourages me to have singleness of heart. There are, of course, many good things I can desire from the Lord. However, when all is said and done what I really need is nothing less than God Himself. If I can just see and savor the beauty of His glory (which we now know is most clearly revealed in the crucified Savior), I will be satisfied “all the days of my life.”
In the course of this life, suffering is a certainty. During these times of trial, all other false gods will fail me (whether they be people or situations or possessions or anything else). I will need something much more trustworthy to carry me safely through the storm. And that’s what dwelling in the house of the Lord and beholding His beauty does for me, as the next verse explains: “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
I love the imagery of Christ being the rock of my sufficiency. That’s one reason why The Solid Rock is one of my favorite hymns. I’ll end this post by quoting verse 3, which I am particularly fond of:
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.