Focusing On The One Thing | Northstar Church

“The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. – Psalm 27: 4-5.

There is room in my inn (my life) for Jesus. The question is how much room? Inns come in all shapes and sizes and as a result, rooms range from the barren and austere to the excessive and lavish. At many inns, there are economy rooms, rooms with a view, rooms with a balcony, perhaps even a penthouse, or top floor room.

The inn of your heart is similar. The most important things in our lives often get the biggest rooms at the inn of our hearts. Family and careers get large rooms and material possessions get better than average accommodations, while hobbies and other things get smaller rooms. The question for today is which room(s) does the Lord get in your heart? Is it all of them? Is it the biggest one? Or the economy room? If God is not taking up residence in all the rooms, it is because we are crowding Him out with other things, with stuff. Simply put our hearts become overcrowded and unavailable. We’ve overbooked our life.

But what about you? What are your priorities? What is the focus of your time and energy? What is the one thing you really seek in life? Many times in life we go after various things, but this scripture states that all we need is one thing. That one thing is Jesus. God made us for the relationship of His perfect love. But if we’re always chasing after other things, we’ll never experience the fullness of that love. The heart is easily deceived and divided. There’s a big difference between a half-hearted approach to God and wholehearted devotion. God wants and deserves our whole heart.

Matthew 28:20 says, “…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Did you catch that? The Lord is present. Our regular lives are being transformed by a new, powerful presence that is the one thing we need to live fulfilling lives. Take a few minutes on this Christmas Eve and reflect on this simple, but powerful truth: the Lord is present. The King above all kings, Lord above all lords left the splendor and beauty and glory and holiness and wonder and perfection of heaven to come to the dirt and sin and trouble and sadness of earth. How can we not make room for Him?

So today, make a decision to make Him the “one thing” that you desire above anything. Fall in love with Him, and reserve your heart for Him.

Discussion Questions:

Is there a part of your heart that you have not given to God? How do you give that part to God?
What can we do this Christmas season to give make Jesus the “one thing?”