Is He Your "One Thing"? - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - March 21, 2025

"The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in His Temple." Psalms 27:4 (NLT)

When I was a little girl, one thing I often wanted more than anything else was to be loved. Although I grew up in a "Christian home," my view of love was often distorted and skewed. My parents and grandparents loved me well. My friends and family, too. But if love was slamming doors, arguments, and heaping piles of verbal and emotional abuse, then I wanted nothing to do with it. 

I knew that God's love was unlike human love. It's even unlike those who show His love the most or best in this day and age. But as I've matured and wrestled with what it means to know and love Jesus Christ personally, I've learned that if I want anything in this life, it's to know and love Him more deeply.

While my husband, family, and friends mean everything to me, without Christ and His love, they mean nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says it this way: "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing" (NIV). 

David had this message down. As the writer of this Psalm, he doesn't just focus on what God can do for Him, but who God is. He zooms in on the presence of God in our lives and where to find Him. 

You can know a lot about someone and not love them. But when we sit in the Lord's presence, when we pull up a seat at His table, when we dine with Him and take the time to hear His voice, there we find strength and hope. There we find what we've been looking for all along. There we find the "one thing" we should seek most above anything and everything else.

Dwelling in the house of the Lord and gazing upon His beauty might sound weird in the 21st century. But I think what David is getting at here comes from Old Testament roots. In the Old Testament, if you wanted to talk to God you went to the Temple. Even then, someone else would need to speak on your behalf to Him. 

Today, we're blessed that Jesus' sacrifice not only made us right with God, but that it enables us to commune with Him. As Romans 3:22-26 notes, "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus" (NIV). 

God's presence isn't confined to a temple; it's found within those who choose to believe in Him. Just as the Psalmist desired to be with God more than anyone or anything else, let us make Him our "one thing," every single day. 

If you're looking to grow closer to the Lord, remember to spend time with Him daily. Read the Scriptures, pray, and ask Him to open and soften your heart. Be teachable, humble, and kind. You can't hear His voice if you aren't making room in your schedule for Him to speak. 

Let's pray:
Dear God, There are so many things in this life that fight for our time, attention, and priority. As we prepare our hearts and minds for this Easter season, let us remember that you alone should be our "one thing." Without you, life has no purpose. We're so grateful for your birth, death, and resurrection. You paid the price none of us could ever afford, and we're blessed to serve such a merciful and gracious King. Let us seek you and your Kingdom above all else, Lord, and help us grow closer to you. As James 4:8 notes, let this be our heartfelt prayer: "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8, NIV). Amen. 

Agape, Amber

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/master1305

Amber Ginter is a teacher-turned-author who loves Jesus, her husband Ben, and granola. Growing up Amber looked for faith and mental health resources and found none. Today, she offers hope for young Christians struggling with mental illness that goes beyond simply reading your Bible and praying more. Because you can love Jesus and still suffer from anxiety. You can download her top faith and mental health resources for free to help navigate books, podcasts, videos, and influencers from a faith lens perspective. Visit her website at amberginter.com.

Related Resource: Instead of Doing More This Summer, Maybe You Need to Do Less

If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.

Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.

Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.

I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!