Seeking the Face of God
King David knew that there had to be more to knowing God; he sensed there was something of the Lord he hadn’t obtained, and he would not rest until he found it. “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4, NKJV).
In short, he was saying, “There is a beauty, a glory, an excitement about the Lord that I haven’t yet seen in my life. I want to know what it’s like to have uninterrupted communion with my God. I want my life to be a living prayer. Only that will see me through the rest of my days.”
The Lord revealed to David that he could satisfy his longings by reflecting God in his own life. David wrote, “When you said, ‘Seek my face,’ my heart said to you, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” (Psalm 27:8). God was instructing David, “Learn of me. Search my Word, and pray for understanding through the Spirit. I want your life to reflect my beauty to the world.”
This was not merely a call to prayer; David would have already been praying several times a day. In fact, David’s prayers were what created this passion in him to know the Lord. No, this call from God was to hunger for a lifestyle that totally reflects who Jesus is.
At Calvary, God took on a human face. Jesus came to earth as a man, God in flesh. He did this so he could feel our pain, be tempted and tried as we are. Scripture calls Jesus the exact likeness of God. He is the same essence and substance of God the Father (see Hebrews 1:3). To this very day, Jesus Christ is the face of God on earth. Through the Cross, we have the privilege of “seeing his face.”
Today, when God says, “Seek my face,” his words have greater implications than at any other time in history. With all that is going on in the world around us, how should we respond? When David was surrounded by a host of idolaters, God said, “Seek my face.” We also obey this command that we may be like Jesus, and those who seek the true Christ will see him in us.
