One thing have I desired of the Lord;
that will I seek after:
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 – KJ21
One thing?
In Psalm 27, David proclaims the one thing he desires which he will seek is to dwell in God’s house all his days. His intention is to always be with God. In dwelling in God’s house, he desires to behold God’s beauty. He wants to see God more clearly in all the wonder and beauty there is to behold. In beholding God, David desires to inquire in God’s temple. He bases his life on God and wants God’s life to inform his own.
One thing. When our focus gets singular, we become fully present to the one thing before us.
Coming to one thing, though isn’t an easy way because we are distractable people. This shiny thing and that shiny thing lures us down one rabbit trail after another.
As a former elementary school teacher, I still think in terms of intentions and that leads me to think in themes. Creating curriculum for my students each month, I’d ask: what’s the one thing I want to focus on for the month? By sticking with the chosen theme, I honed in on what mattered most and eliminated what distracted.
This concept of where to focus, what our One Thing is, comes in handy as we enter a new year. What is it we aim for in the days ahead? What is our One Thing?
Behold God
As I listened in to God’s invitation for 2025, He invited me to center on the theme of behold. So what does behold mean? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “behold” as a transitive verb:
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- “to perceive through sight or apprehension: SEE.
- to gaze upon: OBSERVE.”
I rather like the heft of that word behold. Its synonyms include see, notice, eye, spot, sight, regard, view, perceive, watch, look at, witness, note, discern, catch, spy, set eyes on, identify, consider, attend to, glimpse, glance, gaze.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” A. W. Tozer said. C. S. Lewis believed that God’s way of thinking of us stood as a foundational part of our lives. In other words, we need to know what we think about God and we need to know what God thinks about us.
What are you curious about as you think of God? What characteristics feel unfamiliar to you? What parts of His nature would you like to further explore? What would it be like to spend a year on One Thing, God as our focal point?
What would change in us if we spent the year focused on beholding God in all things? I imagine at year’s end, we would know Him better, love Him more deeply, and follow Him more readily than we do today. That’s my One Desire.
Behold: to gaze upon.
To behold God, we utilize His generous gifts. Consider the multiple ways we can choose to set our eyes upon Him. His presence exists in every single moment of every single day. We can explore Him in so many ways such as these:
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- His Word, the Scriptures which show unfold sightings of His character and His ways.
- His creation, Nature, provides opportunities to perceive His handiwork.
- His desire to communicate with us, His beloveds throughout the day
- His creatures: in one another, we too behold His Presence.
Let’s consider how we get to know God’s heart in the Bible, and how that, in turn, impacts how we see God in beauty, in beloved conversation, in being with those He calls His beloveds.
We read the Bible, God’s Story. In such readings, we get to know Him, not just intellectually, but at a heart level. I listen. I behold. I learn. I meet Him. I read the names, titles, and character of God then I let that move from my brain to my heart. We get to know God up close, personally.
For instance, it’s a fact that God is the Shepherd-God. Yet when I encounter His tender, wise, ferocious shepherding of me, that name becomes an experience. In this connection where God is my Shepherd and I am His sheep, we forge new depths of our relationship. The name, character, or title known intellectually then experienced personally changes how I see God and how I am in the world.
I see how God comes alongside people who are lost, grieving, and lonely. I see how God comes alongside people who are found, joyful, among others. In all of these stories across centuries, I come to know God and then allow Him to be part of my story at all the hard, all the hilarious, and all the holy moments I experience.
My mornings begin with dipping my toes into the wonder of the Word of God. With a mug of peppermint tea warming me and a journal for reflection alongside, I listen to His heart written there for me to behold Him. Then I take those words to heart as I launch into my day. While I read Scripture, it reads me. It shows me where I am alive to the God I love and where I am more attuned to myself than Him. Reading 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we hear these words:
All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I love that. God-breathed words are given to move me into a place of being ready for life with God in the world. It’s been my delight for more than half a century now, having met Jesus as a 16-year-old. Over these decades, I’ve read the Bible in big chunks, whole books consumed in one reading. I’ve marinated for an entire year in one chapter of the Bible, one Psalm, or one key theme day after day for an entire year. I’ve memorized words that capture my attention. Some years I read systematically flowing between lines in the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the New Testament letters. Some years I linger around one question that intrigues me or one characteristic of God that grabs my attention. I dip into Scripture with imaginative prayer, placing myself in the scene. I rest in one word. I savor God through reading the Word via Lectio Divina. If Lectio Divina is a new way of reading God’s word, let me share a bit more. If it’s a familiar way, come along to refresh your experience of it.
Behold: to gaze upon.
Lectio Divina offers a braid of beauty where we behold God and experience His invitations. Being with God in His Word, We listen in as He says, “Come. See. Let Me whisper My heart’s desires for you to you.”
The formal components of Lectio occur as we slowly read through a passage of Scripture four times. We read and sit and ponder and listen and soak in God’s whispers to our heart.
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- Lectio: Delve into the Word.
- Meditatio: Dip into one word or phrase
- Oratio: Discuss with God
- Contemplatio: Deepen into the word or phrase by being in God’s presence
Practically, it looks like this:
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- Be in God’s Word – stop, settle in, pause
- Be with one word or phrase – sit with, behold deeper, ponder
- Be at home with God’s voice – listen and respond
- Be at rest with God – soak in His presence and carry this into the day.
As 2025 unfolds, I’m beginning the month with a regular helping of Lectio Divina. Throughout the year ahead, I’ll keep a journal of what I behold of God: who He is, how He acts, how He comes for me, and what beholding God means as I interact with the world, the work, the worries, and the wonders I encounter.
Would you like to join me? Let’s behold God. Let’s start the year with our eyes on Him and move through the year gazing more and more on Him, with hearts riveted to being in His presence.
May beholding God be full of holding onto God and knowing how dearly and deeply held we are by the most glorious One.
One thing have I desired of the Lord;
that will I seek after:
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 – KJ21
The following are additional resources related to Lectio Divina and “behold”:
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- Psalm 27:4 Lectio Divian resource (click Lectio Divina_workbook for free download)
- Lectio Divina – New Path to Familiar Places
- Behold Your God blog
I look forward to following you in this journey. As I sit here beside my dying husband, …, I find your words a challenge to grow deeper in a different way. Behold!
Love this so much. Thank you!