“When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.’” Psalm 27:8 (ESV)
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
My granddaughter lives in another state, and our time together is minimal. From across the miles, I find myself longing to experience the day to day life with her. Engaging in her daily routine, I get to know her personality, the things that bring her delight, and the touch of her hugs and kisses. For now, I anticipate with great delight our next visit, and when she asks with big, blue eyes focused on mine, “want to play, Nana?” there is no need to tell you she has my full attention, and my heart’s response is, “Yes, I’m coming!”
In Psalm 27, God invites David to seek Him and spend time with Him. “To seek” means to go to, to go in search of, to look for, and to try and discover. God is inviting David and us to know him better. It is written in the book of Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (29:11). Jesus tells us in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Each person is created to know God, to trust Him, to glorify him (John 17:4) and to enjoy Him forever (Psalm 27:4). Eternity is set in the heart of man (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and this instinctive longing and awareness of eternity can only be satisfied in true relationship with their Creator.
Augustine says it simply like this, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find peace in you.”
Seeking God is an important and ongoing responsibility as a Christian, and it should be a natural response of our heart. So, when my Faithful Father whose love endures forever says to me, “Seek my face,” my heart responds, “Yes, Lord, I am coming!”
Prayer: Father, thank you for your promise to be found by you when we seek you with all our heart and with all our soul. We pray that all your people would seek your face and simply long to be in your presence, because you are worthy! Amen.
