“Search for the Lord,” the words say. That’s not so hard, right? You look around and see evidence of the Lord everywhere: in a mountain vista, in flower-strewn fields, in a starry sky, in the smile of a baby, and so on.
But this “search” is something more. It’s to seek with care, enquire about, investigate, be intent on. Someone who is searching for the Lord will care about, inquire about, worship, examine, and be intent on Him.
Later, it says “seek Him.” Isn’t that the same? Not originally. In the Hebrew, this “seek” is בַּקְּשׁ֥וּ (bǎq·qešûʹ) AND פָנָ֖י (p̄ā·nāyʹ) while “search” is translated from דִּרְשׁ֤וּ (dir·šûʹ).
Seek here means discover, find; attempt to do, possess; demand, require, request, search for, call on, consult and adds front; head, face.
“Continually” means, continually. Constantly.
So, we’re to intentionally investigate, look for, examine, and worship the Lord God. Yes, even constantly discovering, finding, and consulting His face.
Okay….. what’s that mean in real life?
Every moment we’re awake,
we’re to be intent upon looking for God’s face.
We’re to care about examining His face.
We’re to constantly consult His face.
Far too often, I’ve sought God for what He could do for me—pain relief, rescue, life, help… all those things I’ve asked Him for—without inquiring about His face, His will, His desires for me and mine.
When we love someone, we look for their face. We long to see it, to touch it, to examine it for their feelings, to see their love. I think because we can’t see God physically, we tend to ignore this in our relationship with Him. We can’t look into His literal face, we can’t touch it, we can’t see His love for us in physical eyes, so we tend to ask Him to prove His love for us by doing for us.
What would happen in us and in our relationship with the Lord if for just one week we practiced this searching and seeking of His face instead of asking for things from His hands?
What if we prayed, “Lord, I want to see you. Reveal You to me. Show me Your face,” then sat still to wait and hear from Him until we see His face—His beauty, His attributes—in fresh ways that bring us to our heart-knees in worship of Him?
Who’s willing? Who’s ready? Who will take this challenge?
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy. Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!