SEEK HIS FACE – October 2017

“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence].” 1 Chronicles 16:11

Greetings in the precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the good LORD be with you throughout this month and bless you and give you good health and peace and joy.

The Bible verse for meditation on the first day of this month tells us that we should seek the LORD. Seeking the LORD means seeking His presence. “Presence” is a common translation of the Hebrew word “face.” Literally, we are to seek his “face.” But this is the Hebraic way of having access to God. To be before his face is to be in his presence.
But aren’t his children always in his presence? Yes and no. Yes in two senses: First, in the sense that God is omnipresent and therefore always near everything and everyone. He holds everything in being. His power is ever-present in sustaining and governing all things.

And second, yes, he is always present with his children(who preach His kingdom) in the sense of his covenant commitment to always stand by us and work for us and turn everything for our good. “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

But there is a sense in which God’s presence is not with us always. For this reason, the Bible repeatedly calls us to “seek the Lord… seek his presence continually.” God’s manifest, conscious, trusted presence is not our constant experience. There are seasons when we become neglectful of the Lord and give him no thought and do not put trust in him and we find him “unmanifested”—that is, unperceived as great and beautiful and valuable by the eyes of our hearts.

His face—the brightness of his personal character—is hidden behind the curtain of our carnal desires. This condition is always ready to overtake us. That is why we are told to “seek his presence continually.” God calls us to enjoy continual consciousness of his supreme greatness and beauty and worth. This happens through “seeking.” Continual seeking. But what does that mean practically? Both the Old and New Testaments say it is a “setting of the mind and heart” on God. It is the conscious fixing or focusing of our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God.“Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.” (1 Chronicles 22:19).

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2). This setting of the mind is a conscious choice to direct the heart toward God. This is what Paul prays for the church: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5). It is a conscious effort on our part. But that effort to seek God is a gift from God.

The heavens are telling the glory of God. So we can seek him through that. He reveals himself in his word. So we can seek him through that. He shows himself to us in the evidences of grace in other people. So we can seek him through that. The seeking is the conscious effort to get through the natural means to God himself—to constantly set our minds toward God in all our experiences, to direct our minds and hearts toward him through the means of his revelation. This is what seeking God means.

And there are endless obstacles that we must get around in order to see him clearly, and so we must flee every spiritually dulling activity. We must run from it and get around it. It is blocking our way. As we direct our minds and hearts Godward in all our experiences, we cry out to Him. This too is what seeking him means. “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6).

Seeking involves calling and pleading. O LORD, open my eyes. O LORD, pull back the curtain of my own blindness. LORD, have mercy and reveal yourself. I long to see your face. Humility is essential to seeking the LORD.
The great promise to those who seek the LORD is that he will be found. “If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9). And when he is found, there is great reward. “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God himself is our greatest reward. And when we have him, we have everything. Therefore, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” “Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” Psalm 105:4.

May God give us wisdom to seek His face.
“The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you]; The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor], and be gracious to you [surrounding you with loving kindness]; The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], and give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].” Numbers 6:24-26 (Amplified Bible)