Hear, O Lord … one thing I ask

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

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly. – Psalm 84

Every so often, in the midst of this world, I have to remember what my ultimate desire is. I am no prophet, but there are days when I can understand Habakkuk’s frustration when he says:

O Lord, how long shall I cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. – Habakkuk, chapter 1

It is on those days when I have to remember that there is something more, something other than what happens here on Earth, whether it be extremely good or extremely bad. There is another reality that we do not see. It is not surprising that Elisha asks God to open the eyes of his servant when the city is surrounded and all seems lost. Elisha prays: “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

I need to remind myself periodically that my true longing is for the City of God, that my true desire is to see my God. I also need to remind myself that there is another reality at work in this world, a reality that I cannot perceive unless God opens my eyes. The hills are indeed full of horse and chariots of fire, and, as Habakkuk found out, God will deal with injustice. As it says, there shall yet come a day …