Do You Seek the Face of God?
Learn What Seeking God’s Face Means and Where to Find It
I love singing worship songs that usher in the presence of the Lord. Not only do I enjoy it at church, but I often play worship music at home when I am preparing to spend some private time with the Lord or to write about Him. But for me the words to any worship song are as important as the music and harmonies. I need to understand the words I am singing and really mean them. Otherwise, the music could be from any genre.
Even as I struggle to learn Spanish as I serve in Costa Rica, I have found it so important to understand the words of the praise and worship songs we are singing in Spanish. It isn’t unusual for people at church to see my husband and I checking our phones during the song service. We are not being disrespectful and playing on our phones. Instead, we are using a translator to translate the lyrics so we can truly join our hearts with the worship through song.
One particular Sunday while singing a song, the congregation was proclaiming we belong in God’s presence and we seek His face. We seek His face. That lyric caught my attention. Do I seek God’s face? How do I find God’s face? And that’s when I began praying about it and searching God’s Word to learn what it means to seek His face.
Let’s consider how we find God’s face in order to truly seek it when we are yearning for a deeper relationship with Him and are proclaiming we are seeking His face.
What Did David Want When He Sought God’s Face?
When King Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David wrote a psalm declaring to the Lord that he would seek His face when the Lord beckons him to do so (Psalm 27:8). Also, after David became king and brought the ark to Jerusalem, he wrote a psalm of gratitude in which he encouraged the people to seek God’s face continually (1 Chronicles 16:11).
What did David mean when he wrote about seeking God’s face? The Amplified Version of these two scriptures helps us to understand that when David sought God’s face, he yearned for His presence as a matter of necessity and on the authority of God’s Word.
What did David see as the benefit of seeking God’s face? David wanted God to guide him and teach him (Psalm 32:8). He understood God would guide him with His eyes (Psalm 32:8).
When we declare to the Lord that we want to see His face, or that we are seeking His face, are we seeking God’s instruction and guidance in our lives? How can God guide us with His eyes if we are not looking into His face? In order to receive God’s instruction and guidance, we must be seeking God’s face.
Does God Position Us to See His Face?
As David mentioned in Psalm 27:8, God wants us to seek His face. If we submit to Him, He actually positions us to look into His face. He holds us up with His right hand (Psalm 18:35). If that’s all He did, then we remain vulnerable to distractions because we easily and comfortably look around at our surroundings, at the things the world has to offer.
God knows we are tempted by the world. Therefore, He turns us to face Him by holding us by our right hand (Psalm 73:23). With your right hand in God’s right hand, God is positioning you to look into His face so He can guide you with His eyes. He has your attention and you are not easily distracted.
God longs to guide, teach and counsel us. He does so when we look into His face, when we linger in His presence.
Is It Possible to See God’s Face?
Is it really possible to see God’s face? In Exodus 33:11-23, Moses sought to know God more deeply. Moses asked God to show him His way so he would know Him (Exodus 33:13). The Amplified Version of verse 13 makes it clear Moses was seeking to know God “more deeply and intimately.” After some back and forth about God’s presence being with Moses, Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18). God explained to Moses that He would make His goodness pass before him, but he could not see God’s face because no man could see Him and live (Exodus 33:19-20).
Again, Moses is seeking to know God more deeply. But before he made his request, verse 11 described Moses’ relationship with God as one in which God spoke to him face to face. However, verse 20 tells us that no one can see God’s face. In fact, in verse 23 God explains to Moses that he will not see God’s face. It is impossible to see God’s face! God is a Spirit (John 4:24). Although He is personified as having a face and hands, we cannot see His face.
What is this face-to-face relationship that Moses had with God? Let’s consider other scriptures pertaining to God’s face. God makes His face shine on us and teaches us (Psalm 119:135). The apostle Paul explained to the church in Corinth that although we don’t currently see clearly, when we see God face to face, we will know more clearly just as we are known by Him (1 Corinthians 13:12). When these scriptures speak of God’s face shining upon us, or being face to face with God, it is in the context of teaching.
Being face to face with God is being in a position of hearing from Him, being guided by Him, being counseled. Being face to face with God increases our knowledge of Him, deepens our relationship with Him just as Moses sought in Exodus 33.
Where Do We Find the Face of God?
When we seek God’s face, we are seeking His guidance, counsel, and a deeper relationship with Him. But don’t we get those things from His Word? Consider the following verses about what the Word of God does.
- Exposes the truth (John 8:31-32)
- Cleanses us (John 15:3)
- Sanctifies the church (Ephesians 5:26-27)
- Effectually works in us (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
- Discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)
- Divinely instructs (1 Peter 1:25)
According to these scriptures, God’s Word teaches us, guides us, and brings us into a deeper relationship with Him, which are the very things we are seeking when we seek God’s face. Thus, when we are seeking God’s face, or praying to God like David did, saying, “I seek your face,” we are seeking a deeper relationship with God through His teaching. How does He teach? Through His Word. In order to seek God’s face, we must be in His Word.
I have heard many people say they just do not get anything out of reading the Bible because they don’t understand it. Yet God assures us the Word is not hidden from us, nor is it far from us, but is near us, in our mouths and hearts so that we may understand it and act according to it (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).
The apostle Paul explained to Timothy that the Word is given to us by God so that by it we are perfected (complete and proficient) and thoroughly equipped to do all good works.
God’s Word also enhances our prayer time. Prayer alone is not sufficient to grow our relationship with God. We cannot pray the Word if we do not know the Word. We cannot know how to pray His will if we do not know His will as taught in His Word. A deeper relationship with God is possible only through a prayer life supported by time in His Word.
We Don’t Do It Alone
We find God’s face in the Word, which is where God reveals Himself to us. If we seek His face, which means we spend time in the Word, we will find that the Word will be very near to us, in our mouths, minds, and hearts so that we can do what God asks. It will teach us, guide us, and fully equip us for every good work God wants us to do.
David acknowledged God’s instruction to seek His face. Seeking God’s face means to seek His presence and learn from Him. God positions us to receive instruction from Him by holding our right hand in His right hand and guiding us with His eyes. This guidance comes from the Word. Just as Moses sought a deeper relationship with God through communication with God, we must also seek God’s face through prayer supported by Bible reading and study.
This is not too hard. The Word is not too far off. It is very near us and it equips us to do every good work that God asks of us. God’s Word is where we find the face of God. And we can be confident we will find it when we seek it in His Word.
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