Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. (1 Chronicles 16:11)
Think of all the things you might be seeking throughout this ‘New Year.’ Is the face of your Lord on your list? The Hebrew word “face” can be translated “presence.” To seek the Lord’s face is to seek His presence. But you might be thinking, “I thought I am always in the presence of Jesus. He promised never to leave me.” This is true. But are there not times when you do not sense His presence in your life? If you are anything like me, the answer sadly is ‘Yes!’
There are times in our lives when we can get so preoccupied with life we can forget or even forsake our Lord. There are times when we trust in ourselves rather than our Savior and we find Him “unmanifested” in our lives. It is easy to hide His face behind the curtain of carnal desires and the shawl of sinful pursuits. For this reason, God tells us not only to seek His face, but to seek it always. Just like we are to pray without ceasing, we are to seek the presence of our God without ceasing.
So, how do we seek God’s face always? Both the Old and the New Testaments provide for us the answer.
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2
Seeking God’s face will not happen by accident. It will only happen when we are intentional about fixing our focus on Him. To be sure, this too is a gift of God grace, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5), but we must appropriate this grace as we go through life. There are many ways to appropriate this grace, but at the top of the list are reading the Word and prayer.
Remember, the degree of the presence of God you experience in your life will always be in direct proportion to the amount of time you spend with Him in His Word and prayer. The promise for this is clear, “If you seek him, he will be found by you.”
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 