REFLECTION ON PSALM 27:4

WC senior shares how gazing on God changes our perspective

Written by Kelly Coughlin | WC Class of 2019

As 2019 concluded, I started to think about my New Year’s resolutions, but I knew that this year I wanted to do something different, something more meaningful than a long, chore-like list of things I need to do better. Randomly, I had a thought about picking a verse to live by or deem as my “motto” for the year.

A goal of mine has always been to grow closer to God, so I began researching verses or passages relating to this concept. Throughout my search for the “perfect” verse, I came across Psalm 27:4, which proclaims, “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.”

This hit me like a truck. The idea of dwelling in the house of the Lord and gazing upon His beauty struck a chord in my heart. It inspired me. From this, I knew that 2020 was the year where I should live in such a way that I actively seek God. I came to realize that God was teaching me to seek Him and gaze upon His beauty despite the rocky road of life, which has transformed my perspective on the current events of the world.

It has given me the ability to persevere through trying times, the ability to develop a more godly character, and the ability to have and hold on to hope. Little did I know that God would be giving me this simple verse that I have read 1,000 times to radically change the way that I pursue the Lord. This leads me to say that God does not always roar in our lives in the way we would expect; rather, He quietly nudges us back to the basic, simple principles in which we should rest.

So, what is He nudging you back to?

[Editor’s Note: The Philippians 4:8 Project is a daily centering of the WC community’s collective hearts and minds on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”]