Seeking God's Face-- Part 2

2. We seek God’s face as an act of thanksgiving

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually.” I Chronicles 16:11; Psalm 105:4.

After the Israelites safely delivered the Ark of the Covenant to the city of Jerusalem, King David wrote a psalm of thanksgiving to the Lord. He gave the words to the Levite ministers and told them to sing it at the victory celebration, which they did. Later, those words became a psalm.

Notice that those words are smack dab in the middle of that thanksgiving psalm. All around them are words of praise and adoration to God. Why did David take the focus off of the Lord at this point? A possible answer can be found in an episode from the Civil War.

In Sept. 1862, the North was taking a beating in Virginia. No one knew how to stop the defeated Union troops from retreating. Then Lincoln had an idea. Against the recommendations of his highest advisers, Lincoln commanded Gen. George McClellan to head towards the battle and lead the troops to victory.

That’s just what McClellan did. He rode into the midst of his discouraged soldiers on his great black horse and encouraged them to persevere.

That was all. He didn’t try to do their job or offer additional supplies. He simply got in their midst so they could see his face and hear his words of encouragement. Civil War historians agree that this was the turning point of the War, in favor of the North.

Every leader knows that people need to see their leader. The closer the people get to their leader, the more excitement they feel. The Yankee soldiers were inspired to persevere because they had seen their leader’s face.

David knew that, in order for his people to survive and their praise to flourish, they needed to be close to God. In the same way we need to continually look to God for strength and wisdom in the midst of our praise. When we do, we will see God’s face in our lives through blessings that could only come from the Lord.

In Part 3 we will learn how to gain our identity through seeking God's face.
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