The ONE Thing Lifestyle
Written by Jarred Rushing
(5 minutes)
Here's the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with him every moment in his house, finding the sweet loveliness of his face, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to him that he takes pleasure in my every prayer.
Lord, when you said to me, "Seek my face,"
my inner being responded, "I'm seeking Your face with all my heart."
(Psalm 27: 4, 8)
Abba lures us out into the wilderness in order to produce a ONE thing lifestyle in us. He's trying to produce in us something that He already carries in Him. We are the beloved of the Father and in us He finds His greatest delight. It sounds like Yahweh is already enjoying this ONE thing lifestyle. And isn't that what it's all about. The ONE thing lifestyle is all about the love affair, the relationship we have with Him. It's about unearthing what your single, greatest delight is in this world. The thing that is worthy of your whole life. The thing that is so valuable that you’re willing to offload everything else in order to acquire it. Whatever you enjoy the most occupies the ONE thing status of your heart.
Pastor Tim shared a revealing question on Sunday that's meant to help us unearth that single, greatest delight that we have in this world. Remember, honesty is the greatest form of intimacy. Hard questions that are answered honestly usher us into a greater measure of intimacy. This was the statement that Pastor Tim made:
"You can only know what you worship by looking at what you give the most time to."
Now, go back and read that again, slowly.
Remember, craving ONE thing above all else is a matter of the heart. Our heart is ever-drifting towards the thing we worship. We're intentionally designed this way. We ask questions like, "How can I give more of my life to God?" and, "How do you make Jesus the one thing in your life?" The problem with these questions is that they're not addressing the root issue. What we're really asking is, "How do I fall in love with Jesus?" Because you will naturally give more of your life to the thing you love. You will naturally make what you love the ONE thing that you crave and desire. You don't have to drum up these feelings when it's something you honestly and authentically love. We didn't have to ask those questions when we were falling in love with our spouses. Because the heart naturally returns to what it loves the most. It's always conspiring and making plans on the best route back to what it loves.
The most common scenario is the one that Pastor Tim shared about on Sunday when he said, "We start off in wonder and excitement, thrilled to be in the presence of Jesus, then something happens." We know what it's like to feel that first-love fire being ignited in our heart. We know what it's like to crave and desire His presence above all else. We know what it's like to be at work or at home or with family and friends and to feel our heart returning to Him, drifting back to our heart's greatest delight. We start off in this place of passion, where love is guiding us back to His face continually. And then something happens. It's different in every story, but something eventually happens that causes our heart to get distracted and things begin to shift. What causes a disruption to the ONE thing lifestyle? The addition of another thing.
What started off like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, enthralled with every word pouring from His lips, ends like Martha who is running around, worried about many things. Listen to Jesus' words to Martha in Luke 10:41-42:
The Lord answered her, "Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won't take this privilege from her."
Martha was pulled away by many distractions.
Mary discovered the ONE thing most important to her.
Martha was upset and troubled.
Mary was undistracted.
Martha was trying to love multiple things at one time.
Mary was trying to love what she delighted in the most.
Are you pulled away by many distractions?
Are you upset and troubled?
Do you feel unstable?
Listen to what produces instability in our life:
When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable. Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you're in that condition? (James 1:8)
It's doubleminded thinking that produces the instability in our life. And doublemindedness isn't us thinking about bad things; it's us thinking about more than one thing. It leaves us restless and disengaged, and apathetic - not interested, not enthusiastic, not concerned. And James is right to ask, "Can we really expect to receive anything from the Lord when we're in that condition?" Have you ever been half-hearted in your marriage? Did you receive anything while you were in that state? Or were you unstable, upset and troubled?
Abba wants us to discover the ONE thing that is most important because it will bring an endless amount of joy and peace to us - the abundant life He died to give us. A life that doesn't just meet our expectations, but one that far exceeds what we are able to ask, think or even imagine. He wants us living fully alive until we're overflowing! And the only way to walk in that level of abundance is to simplify the aim of our life. Simple and single are one in the same. It must be about ONE thing. Can you imagine the chaos that our universe would be in if we tried to introduce something that would compete with our sun for centerstage? Our life is scattered and thrown off of it's axis when we introduce a multitude of things that contend for our heart's attention.
How do you rid your life of the distractions and the things that are pulling you away? You fall more in love with Jesus, and as you fall more in love with Him you will fall out of love with everything that steals your heart away from Him. As you stare into His face, you will notice that distractions will fall away and the things that promote your love affair with Him will intensify. Let love do what it does best. Saint Catherine of Siena said, "Love transforms one into what love loves." Let your love for Jesus take centerstage and watch what happens next! As He becomes the ONE thing, we will be transformed into His image.
Take a walk with Abba today, and don't stare at the distractions - stare at Him! The distractions will be dissolved in the river of His love.
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Worship: "After You" by UPPERROOM
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
