When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.” Do not hide your face from me (Psalm 27:8-9 NASB).
If we are to know God deeply, we must humbly realize that He is the initiator of intimacy. It is not man that first pursues, but God.
Scan your Bible. You will notice the relentless pursuit of man by none other than God Himself.
He is calling, inviting, speaking to man. Even the heavens are daily declaring invitations to us, beckoning us to enjoy His glory.
The Ultimate Initiation
The greatest proof of this, of course, is that He intentionally sent His Son. In Him, God’s Word became flesh and lived among us, so we could gaze on and ponder His glory (John 1:14). He was sent for one reason: that we might be rejoined to God in personal relationship and be eternally satisfied in Him and useful to Him.
David’s Passion
In David we find a man who was willing to cooperate with God in His pursuit. When he heard God’s call to seek Him, he said, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”
This immediate cooperation happened because David understood the value of intimacy with God. He had experienced it, and the taste was underneath his tongue—a taste that compared to nothing else. Earlier in this psalm, he shared the one thing he now desired supremely:
One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple (Psalm 27:4).
The Greatest Tragedy
The greatest tragedy, of course, is when God is pursuing, but we are not cooperating. Preoccupied with the small, unsatisfying, passing morsels of the world around us, we miss the feast because of our shortsightedness and misplaced values.
Pause and Realize
God is inviting you to seek His face! What a miracle! What a privilege! What a gateway to all that matters and lasts.
And then, do whatever is necessary to make the time to pursue Him. Adamantly and continually forsake all that dulls your spiritual sensitivity. Resist the devil’s deceptions to substitute gods.
Increase your time in this pursuit. Read His Word; fast and pray and spend time with His people. Wait on the Lord until your spiritual eyes clear and you see Him before you, reaching His arms to embrace you.
The reward will be a connection with the Divine that will satisfy your heart’s longing as no other. In fact, you will discover that this is what your soul has always longed for. This is why you were made.
And as you seek Him, you will discover an inexhaustible treasure. He will become—as He should—your greatest delight.