Tag Archives: the one thing I ask from the Lord

What a Wonderful World

I was listening to a recording of Louis Armstrong  singing, “What a Wonderful World.” The gentle lilting melody and soothing lyrics comfort an anxious soul. Really, the lyrics are a testimony of a grateful life.

It wasn’t always that way. Being born to a poor family in New Orleans, living in a rough neighborhood known as “the battlefield,” abandoned by his father, and going through troubled marriages, Louie Armstrong knew the bitter side of life but in the end chose to embrace life’s better side.

Instead of dwelling on the hard times of his life, he used it to inspire his music that brought happiness to so many. It was for him, “Something to live for.”  His last hit song, What a Wonderful World, portrays a world of simple beauty and peace:  leafed trees and flowers, passing clouds and colorful rainbows, the friendly smiles and gestures of people going about their daily life, encouraging and loving one another, and the miracle of watching babies grow and learn. What a wonderful world when you’re surrounded by friends and family!

Sure it’s idyllic, maybe a bit of soft shoe schmaltz. But isn’t it also the perspective we need when we’re pressed down by the pressures of life? It’s precisely during difficult moments and trying seasons of life that we need to embrace the power of a grateful heart. It reminds us,

The solution to looking down at our problems is always – always – looking up.

  • Looking up to find beauty and calm and simple joy in the miracle of life that surrounds our pain.
  • Looking up to peer deeply into someone’s eyes and building a bond of understanding.
  • Looking up from the hopeless headlines and committing to one small way to make a big difference in someone else’s life.
  • Looking up to find a loving God who sees you where you are and invites you to rest from your burdens.

But if your world has suddenly and unimaginably fallen apart, or become worn down by the constant pressure of enduring sorrow; if it seems that the whole world is decaying around you, and your enemies, like cancer,  press against you with increasing pressure, is there any beauty and comfort yet to be found?

In his despair and grief and in the face of surrounding evil, the psalmist found hope in finding goodness in the land of the living.  He found beauty and safety and peace in abiding in God’s presence. Though everything around him was in turmoil and threatening his very life, he found a wonderful world in seeking quiet time with his Lord. Eyes off his troubles and gazing into the eyes of his master, he found respite from his fears and pain and sorrows. He could have asked for many things: to be rescued from his enemies, to be vindicated in their presence, to have the pleasures of good health, prosperity, and fame. But instead, he asked this:

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 23:4

And with this refreshed perspective, he concludes with this resolution and challenge for us:

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 23:13-14

We have very many things we’d like to ask of the Lord, including the rescue from our deepest woes. But the one thing we could ask that makes more difference than anything else, is to dwell in the comfort and strength of his presence and catch a glimpse of the wonder of God’s unending love and amazing grace, offered freely to you and me.

Go ahead. Ask. It’s a free gift.