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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Seeking God's Face-- Part 1

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1

Imagine you’re at the mall with a friend and the two of you become separated. You begin walking around, trying to find her. Do you look for your friend’s elbow in order to find her? Do you look for her knuckle as a way of finding her? Do you look for the soles of her feet, shins, or ribs in order to find her?

No. What you look for is your friend’s face.

The words to a lot of choruses used during worship services in churches today often talk about “seeking God’s face.”

What does it mean, to seek God’s face? Is this merely a phrase that’s popular and used so often that it’s become glib? Or is seeking God’s face something that has the potential to deepen our walk with Christ?

The Old Testament uses the phrase “seek God’s face” in several places. A look at some of these verses will show us what God wants us to know about seeking His face.

1. We seek God’s face in order to know Him.

When God tells us to seek His face, He’s saying, “Seek my unmistakable, personal presence. Gaze at me. Behold. Know me intimately.” God wants us to seek His face so we can have closer communion with Him.

The face is what we use to recognize someone. God designed us so that, except for multiples, we all look different from each other. We each have a unique combination of eyes, nose, mouth, chin, forehead, eyebrows, and cheeks. By learning to recognize those combinations, we can pick out a friend’s face from every other in the world.

Are you seeking God's face today? Are you looking to make sure that what you're doing, thinking and feeling are from Him? Ask Him for help in this. He will come through for you.

More about Seeking God's Face in the next entry!

Have a good weekend!