Seek My Face

I am deathly afraid of spiders. (Please don’t use this information against me!) When my daughter was about 2 or 3 years old, she found a granddaddy long-leg on the back porch. She caught that wretched creature by its spindly leg and came to show me! I tried to act nonchalant, but Savannah had mastered my face. She and I had had lots of face-to-face interaction, and she could pick up on my feelings effortlessly. (She still can.) An evil look crossed her baby face, and before she could carry out her wicked plan, thank the Lord, her daddy intervened. There would be other times too when she would study my face to see if I was nervous or afraid.

When we seek someone’s face, we might ask them to stop and look at us. We want their undivided attention. We connect with them by hearing them and being heard by them. We study their eyes, facial expressions, and body language. This intense exchange is usually with someone we love deeply.

Now imagine doing that with the King of kings and LORD of lords! God Almighty wants us to seek His face! To search His face. You might wonder how that is possible since God is invisible. Through prayer and Bible reading our spirit connects with His Spirit. It’s a longing and seeking to know Him, to hear His voice. We search for the tiniest clues that inform us about His character or what He might be thinking or what He might do. We analyze His Words like a letter from a new love interest.

Pause and consider these beautiful verses:

Psalm 27:4-9, “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. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.  Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.  Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.  My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.  Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.”

Do you want blessing from the Lord? Of course! Do you want Him to fight your battles? Yes! (I have personally experienced both of these, haven’t you?!) Then,

Psalm 24:5-6, “They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.”

I am learning to pray Scripture, so I pray this passage from Numbers 6:24-26 over you, dear reader:

“May the LORD bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may He turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

joyce hague