Seeking the Face of God

What does it mean to seek God’s face? We’re always told to seek God’s face and not just His hand. Well that’s a great point but just how do we go about seeking His face?

Seeking someone’s face is like seeking their attention. If there’s someone you want to notice you…what do you do? Simple, you do the things that you know they like. You talk about the things that they’ll want to talk about. Seeking the attention of God is no different. Do those things that are well pleasing in His sight, and you will have His attention:

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” 2 Chronicles 16:9

But there’s much more to the face than attention. The face is the #1 marker for the identification of a person. If you know exactly what someone’s face looks like, you’ll always be able to identify that person. No matter the circumstance, even if they change their hair and put on make-up… You can always see the person. So from this we know that seeking the face of God isn’t just His attention, it’s learning who His is and what identifies Him.

So what does the face of God look like?

Well that’s a question for the ages. Nevertheless searching through proverbs I noticed Solomon describing Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge, in a very specific and curious way.

“The Lord by Wisdom hath founded the earth; by Understanding hath He established the heavens. By His Knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.” Proverbs 3:19-20

When I read this I felt like these were more than just descriptions of how God created everything. They’re descriptions of what Wisdom is, what Understanding is, and what Knowledge is. If you take each sentence as a comparison, you see this:

Wisdom is compared to the earth; the earth is: physical, substance, seen.

Understanding is compared to the heavens; the heavens are: not physical, unseen, no literal substance.

Knowledge is compared to water/water cycle; the water cycle is: separating water from water, purifying and cleaning water.

            The rest of the chapter (through to the next two chapters) proceeds to describe in detail (and in order) these three things. The next verse begins Wisdom…

“My son, let not them depart from thine EYES: keep sound wisdom and discreation:” Proverbs 3:21

Wisdom is something you can see.

The rest of the chapter Solomon goes through proverbs on how one should act. They’re all actions, using many physical characteristics for emphasis. Such words as walk, foot, and EYES. Wisdom is something you live out, it’s what you see and what you do. It’s physical.

At the end of Proverbs chapter 3, Solomon wraps up Wisdom and begins describing Understanding in chapter 4:

“The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools”

Proverbs 3:35

“HEAR, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know Understanding.”

Proverbs 4:1

Understanding is something you can hear.

The rest of chapter 4, Solomon teaches on hearing commandments; sound doctrine – and listening to them. He talks about following instruction and teaching. He says to think/ponder your own way. The key words of this chapter are: Hear, instruction, remember, ponder, and listen.

            These are not physical things; they cannot be seen. You cannot see hearing, or touch instruction and listening.

            In the beginning of chapter 5 Solomon begins to describe Knowledge. However, this one starts out different…

            “My son, ATTEND unto my Wisdom, and bow thine EAR to my Understanding: that though mayest regard discretion, and that thy LIPS may keep knowledge.” Proverbs 5:1-2

Knowledge is something you speak.

            So from this first verse we see that Knowledge is the bringing together of both Wisdom and Understanding. It’s like Solomon is saying, alright…now act Wisely and listen to Understanding that you might be able to speak Knowledge. 

              So if you’re living in this certain way and thinking in this certain way, then you’ll speak in this certain way. Knowledge is the end result of being full of Wisdom and Understanding. Think about the water cycle, it’s not possible without both earth and sky.

In the rest of this chapter, words and speech continue to be discussed. Solomon also speaks about water sources. We’re told here to maintain our own cistern and well (source for personal drinking), and to not allow strangers to use our source of water (to keep it pure). This is likened to the water cycle. This is a separation of waters and a purifying of water. The key words in this chapter are: LIPS and water.

So after noticing all of this, I was of course full of excitement over the revelation of what Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge really are. Thinking out loud I said to myself…so Wisdom are like EYES, Understanding like EARS, and Knowledge like LIPS. Then I thought, whoa, it’s a face! Is this supposed to be our face? No…that’s not it…let’s go back to the first 2 verses that started this:

“The Lord by Wisdom hath founded the earth; by Understanding hath He established the heavens. By His Knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.” Proverbs 3:19-20

It’s by His Eyes, His Ears, and His Lips. It’s His face.

God’s eyes are Wisdom. His ears are Understanding. His Lips are Knowledge.

Seek these three things and you will be seeking the face of God.

Wading/Waiting in the Waters for God

The cares of this world are often like a storming current, wanting to push you back and forth with every wave of fear or discontentment. Situations arise that move you to anger and consume your mind with frustration. Allowing these situations to overcome you result in irrational and careless behavior. They are the ways of this world, constantly enticing you to live in your flesh. There’s a song by the band Loud Harp, called the fire and the flood, which God spoke to me through the other day. The lyric was this “Wade in the waters, God is going to trouble the waters.” This troubling of the waters is not referring to any kind of turmoil or trial. It’s a move of situations, a move of circumstances. Picture it: you’re slowing walking through a lake, water splashing against your waist. The water has a slight resistance to it; moving takes more work, more energy. It pushes against you, gently encouraging you to let go and follow its current instead. To wade through water, to wade through the cares of this world, the flesh and all the struggles it brings, requires patience, strength, and endurance. Sometimes the temptation to succumb to the pressure of this water is overwhelming. But even in these moments, when the current is pulling you harder than you can stand, God is going to come and trouble the waters. He will disturb the current of this world that is coming against you. He will surround you with peace and strengthen you to stand. It’s a combination of wading and waiting for God. Waiting on God to trouble the waters will result in you moving into a perfect posture. It will result in you moving into that place and position that God wants you in: But you must wade, and not succumb.

Saul, the first King of Israel, experienced this as well. Unfortunately when the water become violent and the current stiffened like a wall against him, he let go and let the water move him as it wished. Saul had only been King for 2 years when the Philistines came up against Israel to Michmash. The Philistine’s army had, “people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude.” 1 Samuel 13:5 All of Israel was distressed; some hid themselves in caves, others fled to neighboring kingdoms. Even the soldiers that followed Saul toward the battle trembled. The waters began to quicken.

Samuel, the prophet, told Saul to wait in Gilgal for 7 days until he arrived. Samuel would then offer a sacrifice to the Lord before they went into battle against the Philistines. As we see, “he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.” 1 Samuel 13:8

So he waited the 7 days as he was told. This is good. The current was pushing against him, yet he resisted – for a time. But when 7 days were up, he became frantic. Scripture states that the people began to leave him. His own soldiers were abandoning the fight in fear. Samuel still hadn’t come. The waters thrashed against Saul; all hope seemed lost.

This is the moment of choice. The moment where character is determined. Are you going to sink your feet into the mud and be a wall against the current itself, trusting that God is going to come? Or are you going to succumb, let go, and let the waters of this world carry you wherever it chooses?

Saul chose option number 2.

He gave up and allowed the water to overpower him. It beat around him, consuming him. The current of fear and panic rushed into his heart and mind. He took matters into his own hands. He brought out the offerings and sacrificed to the Lord, himself. But… “as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came” 1 Samuel 13:10

Saul thought he had done a good thing. After all, he waited the time allotted, but Samuel didn’t come. So he just made the sacrifice to the Lord himself. What’s wrong with that? Sacrificing to the Lord is always a good thing, yeah? Well, not necessarily… For just a little later Samuel speaks these words to Saul, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

The Lord wanted Saul to wait; even when all hope seemed lost. The Lord seeks a heart with such devotion. He wanted to change Saul’s circumstance Himself. He wanted to see him stand strong against the waters of this world, having faith in Him. God wanted to come and make His own way of peace through water for Saul; to bring him into a position where He could establish his kingdom in Israel forever. But now that chance was gone.

 “Samuel said to Saul, thou has done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” 1 Samuel 13:13-14

Saul’s impatience and disobedience exposed a lack of trust and hope in God. He allowed himself to be moved by the waters, thinking this would bring him into a position he thought best. But he ended up moving into a place where God could no longer bless him. He resisted not the world and its pulling temptations, but rather gave himself to them.

God wants to bless you. He wants to give you every good thing. But sometimes it requires simply wading through the waters of this world. Sure, you’re probably not up against quite the same pressure Saul was…thousands of men waiting to kill him and his own soldiers abandoning him. But the concept is the same nonetheless. You feel like the appointed time has come, and God still hasn’t shown up. The waters have rose up against you and the current is pulling you under. Hope seems like a far thing. But it’s in this moment that God is staring right at you, watching how you’re going to react. This is what trust means: that even in these moments, you look up toward Him and smile. For you know that He is going to come and trouble the waters. The cares of this world, that try to ensnare us, will tremble before Him. He will come and reveal His way through every situation; a way with a current of peace, that will carry you to the place where He will establish and bless you forever.

  

His Strength for His Way

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

The Lord is eagerly searching for people with hearts wholly reliant on His strength; for hearts that lean on Him, that trust and walk in His way. His ways can sometimes appear intimidating or simply too difficult. But that couldn't be further from the truth. His yoke is indeed easy and His burden, light: for the heart that leans and follows, He will give His strength to. 

This lesson was learned the hard way by King David when he first attempted to transport the Ark of the covenant from Kirjathjearim to Jerusalem. By comparing this first attempt with the second (successful) one, we see the blessing and strength that is given when one chooses to walk in the Lord's commandments over their own ways.