LHM Daily Devotions - Face-to-Face

"Face-to-Face"

Jul. 15, 2019

You have said, "Seek My face." My heart says to You, "Your face, LORD, do I seek." Hide not Your face from me. Turn not Your servant away in anger, O You who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!

~ Psalm 27:8-9 (ESV)

God gives us a command and an invitation, "Seek My face." The psalmist replies that he does seek the LORD's face and pleads, "Hide not Your face from me." Not everyone felt the same. Long before, when the Lord called to Moses from the burning bush, "Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God" (Exodus 3:6b). That initial reaction would change, and we are told that God "used to speak to Moses face-to-face as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11b). So up close and personal were these meetings that afterward Moses' face glowed with reflected glory. Even with such close communication, there came a day when Moses asked for more. He wanted to see God's glory. God mercifully refused the request, for no one could look on Him and live. Instead, God shielded Moses and allowed him just a passing glimpse of His glory.

Centuries later, when the time was right, the world was given much more than a brief glimpse of God's glory, safely veiled in human flesh. In the Person of Jesus Christ, the God who once spoke to Moses face- to-face walked on earth among the people He created and loved. Jesus came face-to-face with young and old, friends and followers, and those who rejected Him. The Son of God looked on the world with a face of compassion and, when His hour came, offered up His innocent life as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. As He hung helpless on the cross, His followers fled, and His enemies mocked Him to His face. His Heavenly Father turned His face from His Son as Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46b)

The psalmist prays, "Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!" Our God is not a God of indifference to our plight but, rather, participation. He has shown us that plainly in Jesus. Our Savior, born as a Man, was abandoned to the suffering and death of the cross, and because God raised Him from the dead, we know that we will never be forsaken by God. Through Christ's atoning sacrifice, the Father's face is turned toward us in love and compassion.

As the Lord spoke to Moses to bless the people Israel, so still He speaks to us today: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).

THE PRAYER: Lord, lead us by the power of Your Spirit to seek You in Your holy Word until the day comes when, by Your grace, we will meet You face-to-face. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• If someone has sinned against you, would they feel comfortable seeking your forgiveness and understanding?
• Have you ever felt yourself cast off in anger by the Lord? When and why?
• When life hits a rough spot, do you earnestly seek God, or do you lean on your own resources to get you through?

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
If someone has sinned against you, would they feel comfortable seeking your forgiveness and understanding?