Fears and Desires

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple (Psalm 27:4)
Psalm 27 begins with the declaration that "the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" This is a declaration, not a question with an uncertain answer. He has good reason to cast off his fears and place his full confidence in the Lord, for the Lord has protected him when his enemy has arisen against him. Something else is revealed through David's prayer. David reveals that the reason he does not need to fear men is because he desires nothing more than to dwell with God and to know Him. Encountering this statement gives one an opportunity for self-evaluation. What have I desired or asked from the Lord? Is the Lord's presence my priority objective, or is it something else?
Desires are complex, are they not? For the Christian, there is a constant battle. The flesh sets its desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. We must bring our desires into subjection to the will of God as it is revealed in the Word of God, which we can only do in the grace and power that God provides. Sometimes fleshly desires are difficult to detect, because they show up in the disguise of something harmless. Other times the stench of death is so strong on a desire that we can identify immediately, yet we have trouble putting it to death. The attitude David exhibits here is one any Christian who is walking in the Spirit will also exhibit. It is what we genuinely desire when we are thinking rightly. The trouble I have is with those times when I am distracted, lukewarm, fleshly minded or given to temptation. It is in such moments that I find not only is my desire for God minimized, but my fears are maximized. I fear the derision of men. I fear failure. I fear conflict. The list could go on and on, but David shows us that there is a direct link between our fears and our desires. We fear men, because we desire their affection, praise, affirmation, or even just their presence. We are delivered from the fear of men, not by self-confidence, but by a genuine desire for the presence and knowledge of the Lord.
What do you desire today? What do you fear? The two will not be far apart.