What do you ask from the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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.
(Psalms 27:4 (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but most people probably have other options in mind when they seek something from the Lord.

Some turn to the Lord seeking health and healing for themselves or for loved ones. I fully understand how this can be a top priority when you consider the things that people seek from the Lord. But, we have to ask one important question. What are the motives?

Other people turn to the Lord seeking His assistance in turning around a financial situation or a family situation. These, too, are legitimate things to seek the Lord for assistance with. Again, we have to seriously consider the motives.

There are even those people who think that they aren’t seeking anything because they have it all together. I honestly think that Jesus may have encountered this attitude with Martha when He went to Mary and Martha’s house. Martha thought that she was doing what was required. She wasn’t seeking the Lord. She was seeking approval based on social requirements. Jesus informed her otherwise.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:41-42 (NIV))

Mary had chosen the very same thing that David desired. Both of them simply asked to be in His presence.

Take a long, hard, serious look at your faith. Do you love the things that you can get from a relationship with the Lord, or do you simply love the Lord? I realize that if you lump grace, mercy and salvation into the “things,” they do come in as a very high rating in the grand scheme of things. However, if you truly love the Lord, then these things simply mean that you get to spend eternity in His presence, in His house, and in His temple gazing upon the beauty of the Lord. It is when you place the things of this world above the Lord that you start asking for worldly things. You ask with the wrong motives.

With this in mind, I have but one more question for you.

What do you ask from the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you looking to yourself instead of Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
(Revelation 3:17 (NIV))

Do you consider yourself a follower of Christ?

Do you like to be self-sufficient?

Are you the type of person who has to take care of everything yourself?

Do you feel that unless you do it, it isn’t done right?

Would you rather starve than ask for assistance?

Do you look around and think to yourself that you have your life in order and are prepared for anything that may happen?

Hopefully, everyone who reads this will answer the first question with a resounding “Yes!”

The other questions fall into an area where human ego and pride come into play far too often. To be honest with you, I am guilty of answering these questions with a “yes” more often than I care to admit. Everyone likes to be self-sufficient. Do you feel guilty asking for help? I understand.

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
(2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV))

Everyone has a certain way that you want things done. Everyone would love to have a nest egg to know that they are taken care of. We like to be able to predict our comfort and our future. But is this what God wants?

He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
(Luke 12:17-20 (NIV))

In case you did not realize this, Revelation 3:17 is about the church at Laodicea. This is the church that Jesus called lukewarm. He even said that He was about to spit them out of His mouth. They had accepted Jesus, yet they failed to leave the comfort of their physical lives. They thought that they had everything covered. They thought that they were self-sufficient. They thought that they didn’t need any assistance and that everything was in order. The sad part of this is that is was all based on their efforts and not on the strength of Jesus! If we take a look at the next sentence from Luke, we see exactly what will happen to those who fail to look to the Lord.

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:21 (NIV))

Don’t be caught up in your ability. Don’t be so arrogant that you rely on your feeble works. Look to the Lord and grow in your faith.

Are you looking to yourself instead of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There is no greater lifeline!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Romans 10:13 (NIV))

Humanity tries to duplicate God’s promises by using the same concepts and applying them at a much smaller scale. Take this passage as an example. I have read this passage many times. I cling to the promise that it contains, yet, today when I read it, something stood out that I hadn’t seen before. Perhaps this visualization will reach someone and help them to realize the greatness of the promises that are always Yes in Jesus!

We are all familiar with the televised game shows where they allow the contestants to phone a friend to help them get the right answer. Most of the time, the subjects of the questions deal with something from this physical world and the idea of the question is to trick the person who is asked to answer it. If they don’t answer correctly, they simply don’t win the money, and they return to the life they already know.

Imagine something with much higher stakes. You are asked one question and that question will determine where you will spend eternity. There is no going back to the way things were before the question is asked. You are asked to account for your sins. You are given the ability to respond with an answer. Do you answer of your own sinful abilities or do you call upon a friend for assistance? If you call upon a friend, who do you call?

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24 (NIV))

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
(Acts 4:12 (NIV))

Based on these verses, and many more, I know what my answer will be!

I would like to call upon the name of Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, and that is my final answer.

There is no greater lifeline!

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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