Chasing the Glimpses of Beauty

“One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

In the midst of threats, danger, and the shadow of death, David’s heart shines with a single, all-consuming longing: to behold the beauty of God. Psalm 27 is not just a prayer it is a call to action, an invitation to a lifelong pursuit. David’s words challenge us to become seekers of divine beauty, to live with an unshakable desire to see and savor the Lord above all else.

The Beauty David Sought

David’s prayer for “one thing” reveals the deepest desire of his soul. While he longs for the house of the Lord, his yearning is not for walls or rituals but for the God who makes that place holy. He craves to gaze upon the Lord’s beauty to be caught up in the loveliness and goodness of God’s presence.

Beauty is magnetic; it calls to the soul. When David speaks of God’s beauty, he speaks of a loveliness that satisfies the deepest longings of the heart, the kind of beauty that awakens joy and awe. This pursuit is not casual it is wholehearted, intense, and unrelenting. David calls us to join him in this sacred hunt for beauty.

1. A God-Focused Hunt

David’s declaration “One thing will I seek after” reveals a heart undivided. His gaze is fixed. His desire is singular. To hunt for beauty is to be relentless in seeking God’s presence everywhere: in His Word, in His creation, and in the lives of His people.

Do you approach God’s Word with this hunger, expecting to see the radiance of the King? Do you look for glimpses of His glory in the natural world, in acts of kindness, or in the people who bear His image?

In Psalm 19, David marvels at God’s glory displayed in the heavens. In Psalm 119, he sees beauty in the intricacies of God’s Word. Everywhere he turns, he is on the lookout for divine splendor. Can we say the same? Or are we distracted by lesser pursuits, chasing fleeting pleasures that never satisfy?

2. A God-Empowered Hunt

David’s pursuit begins not with his own will but with God’s invitation:
“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’
My heart says to you,
‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’” (Psalm 27:8)

Before we can seek God, He seeks us. Before we can hunt for beauty, He calls us to Himself. Without His grace, we would not even desire Him. Ephesians 2:1 reminds us that we were “dead in our trespasses,” unable to move toward God. Yet He pursues us first, awakening our hearts to seek Him.

This is the mystery of grace: we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our hunt for beauty is not an attempt to find a distant God but a response to a God who has already found us.

3. A God-Exalting Hunt

The end of David’s pursuit is not pride but praise:
“And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.” (Psalm 27:6)

When we truly behold the beauty of God, joy overflows into worship. Our praise becomes the evidence of our delight. This is why we were created: to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

David’s joy was not based on an absence of trouble his life was filled with danger and betrayal. Yet his heart was lifted because his focus was fixed on God’s loveliness, not his circumstances. When we center our lives on God’s beauty, we find joy that no storm can steal.

The Joy of the Hunt

What greater pursuit can there be than the pursuit of God Himself? The hunt for beauty is not about aesthetics it is about aligning our hearts with the greatest treasure of all. The gospel invites us into this joy, into the fellowship of the Trinity where perfect love and beauty have always existed.

God Himself is the most beautiful reality, the source of all goodness and delight. When we seek Him, we are not chasing shadows we are pursuing the very reason we were made. As David declares, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).

Take Up the Chase

David concludes with a charge that we cannot ignore:
“Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

To “wait” here means to look eagerly, to expect, to seek with hope. It’s an active waiting—a pursuit fueled by faith.

Will you take up this hunt? Will you seek God’s beauty in His Word, in prayer, in His creation, and in His people? Do not let the distractions of life keep you from the joy of this pursuit. There is no greater reward than to see and savor the One who is infinitely lovely.

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