A Religion of the Face

When we allow Jesus to be Lord of all—when we cast all our cares upon him, fully trusting in his Word and resting in his love—our appearance should undergo a deep change. A quiet calm should begin to radiate from our face. Scripture gives us many examples of this: When Hannah laid down her burden, “. . . her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18, NKJV).

When Stephen stood before hostile, angry men in the Sanhedrin, [they] “. . . saw his face as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Stephen stood among unbelievers with the shine of Jesus Christ, and the difference was clear to all.

I am convinced that we have a duty to let our countenance speak of God’s faithfulness in our lives. The problem is that our facial features and body language often say just the opposite. Many believers’ faces say, “God has failed me. He doesn’t care for me anymore. I have to carry all my burdens and problems alone because God doesn’t come through for me.”

You may not consciously say such things to yourself, but they will show on your face. I want to show you from God’s Word that what you are going through is not new. 

Someone else has been exactly where you are. “My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted... I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed... I am so troubled that I cannot speak... Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favorable no more? Has his mercy ceased forever? Has his promise failed?... And I said, ‘This is my anguish’” (Psalm 77:2-10).

Yet the psalmist eventually comes out of his trouble with his happy countenance restored. Why? It is because, he says, “I cried out to God with my voice . . . in the day of my trouble I sought the Lord” (Psalm 77:1-2).

If this describes you, I beg you to do this: Today, this very day, get alone somewhere with the Lord and open your heart to him. Tell him you are at the end of your rope, that you can’t take it anymore, that you’re ready to lay it all on his shoulders. Have it out with God!