Seeking God's Face

Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. “Presence” is a common translation of the Hebrew word “face.” To be before God's face is to be in his presence.

When you look at someone's face you see how they feel - what makes them laugh, what hurts them.  When you study someone's face you learn about them and get to know them.

Often we don't seek God's face.  We seek His hands.  We look for what He will do for us, not who He is.  We want handouts based on our own understanding - things that we think will make us happy.  We are more interested in gifts than the giver.  We don't realize that being in the presence of God, seeing His face is better than anything we could ask for.

In the Old Testament King Ahaz reigned over Judah (2 Kings 16).  As King he should have been seeking God's Face.  Instead, he went elsewhere and saw what other people were doing and how they were serving other gods.  He brought the pattern of these foreign altars back and made them in God's temple.  He moved God's altar out of the way and used the ones he made for everything.  Well, everything except one thing - he would use God's altar to ask for things.  

Do we do that?  Do we think we've got life covered so we move God out of the way?  Do we put Him on hold until we need Him?  And when we need Him do we ask Him for things that we want, rather than what He wants?  

We need to distinguish between whether we are seeking God's Face or His hands.  We need to be saddened by what He is saddened by, enjoy what He enjoys, see the world as He sees it.  This can only be done when we seek His face.  

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8