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“I have set the Lord always before me” (Psalm 16:8).
What does it mean to “set the Lord always before us”? I once read about a church youth leader who took her youth group on an outing to the Huntington Art Museum in Pasadena, California, to view the fine arts on display. Once there she intently whisked her group from room to room, from painting to painting, from display to display. She was determined her group would see every item in the exhibits.
Each time she crisscrossed the museum on the run, she caught sight of one particular room where a gentleman was seated on a bench. He was gazing at one painting. While she and her class were zipping through every nook and cranny of the vast building, this man never moved from his spot. He remained on that bench the entire time the class was there, drinking in the glory of one masterpiece.
With her goal of touring the museum and its legendary gardens accomplished, the church leader breathlessly rounded up the group to bustle them out to the waiting bus. And sure enough, as she went by that one room again, she caught sight of the man. He was still there.
As the bus bumped its way home after an exhausting day, she thought about the man. Yes, she concluded, his is the better way. Admitting that she could hardly recall what she’d seen on her whirlwind tour, she could only imagine what the unknown man was taking home with him—the colors, the details, the understanding, the treasure, the appreciation, the comprehension, the feelings of the famous work of art.
What a lesson! Why don’t you and I do what this wise man did? Let’s put aside the busyness and bustle of life—at least for a specific time each day—and set the Lord before us? Why don’t we set the many things in life aside and enjoy the one main Person? Why don’t we choose to sit and soak in God’s beauty, God’s essence, God’s majesty, God’s promises, and God’s glory… today… right now?
When you and I make this daily decision to set the Lord before us, we’ll be able to join the writer who yearned for his promised home and wrote the heart song of Psalm 84:
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (verses 1-2).
A Question to Consider:
What do allow to take precedence before the Lord. What do you set before yourself instead of God’s precious Word and Presence?
For more insight into ways to “set the Lord always before you” read, A Woman’s High Calling by Elizabeth George.
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Jim and Elizabeth George are bestselling authors and national speakers dedicated to helping people live a life after God’s own heart. Together, they have written over 150 books with more than 14 million copies sold around the world. For over 35 years, the teachings and steadfast example of Elizabeth and Jim have helped countless men and women:
Jim and Elizabeth George are bestselling authors and national speakers dedicated to helping people live a life after God’s own heart. Together, they have written over 150 books with more than 14 million copies sold around the world. For over 35 years, the teachings and steadfast example of Elizabeth and Jim have helped countless men and women:
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