Your Face Will I Seek

Week 7:

Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

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.

For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.

Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

God Will Provide

Week 6:

Genesis 22:1-14

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!"  And he said, "Here I am."  Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."  So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him... But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!"  And he said, "Here I am, my son."  Then he said, "Look, the fire and wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"  And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering."... Then they came to the place of which God had told him.  And Abraham built an alter there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"  So he said, "Here I am."  And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, you only son, from Me."  Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.  So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.  And Abraham called the name of the place, 'The Lord Will Provide'; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided."  

I love this story so much because it shows the goodness of God to Abraham.  This story is about a test that God brought Abraham through.  In the passages before, God promised Abraham nearly 4 times that he would be a father of many nations and that he would be blessed and favored by both God and man.  He was promised a son.  Abraham received a son.  But the test for Abraham was not in waiting for a son... the test was when Abraham had a son.  Yes, it was a challenge to have faith that God would bring him a son, however the real test was when he was told to give up that very thing he was promised.  

How many times has God given you a promise and then asked you to lay it down?  Throughout the past year and a half, God has taught me so much about promise and hope in the promise and what a challenge that has been.  But contrary to popular belief, the test is not when you're at the bottom or when you're in lack... the test is when you've been promoted, when you've finally been given something you've been hoping and waiting in earnest for.  Many people in this culture believe that the test of faith is when we're so desperate for something that all we can do is trust in God to come through.  This happens frequently when people are in a financial crisis and can't pay their rent or buy groceries.  They think that what they're going through is the ultimate test to see if they can trust God.  But what I learned from Steven De Silva in my finance class was that it's the greater test when you have a lot, and God is asking you, "What are you going to do with what I've given you?"  

It's time to stop dwelling at the bottom, in lack, in constant desperation.  God has enough.  Jesus' blood paid the price for you to live in abundance.  He's calling you into a greater understanding of His unending and ever-increasing government where the test is no longer when we're in debt, but when we've been given a crazy amount of blessings and finance!  And let me give you some good news: When we choose to sacrifice those promises and we lay them down on the alter like Abraham did, God will provide!  Meditate on that, because as Isaac asked Abraham, without the understanding that he was to be the sacrifice, where the lamb for the offering was, Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering."  And as he believed in God's provision, he was not only spared his only son, but he was provided a lamb to sacrifice for the offering in place of his son and blessed by God.  

In this upcoming season where God is going to pour out the fulfillment of His promises, I will hold on to the truth that God will provide the sacrifice, even when I have laid down mine.  His goodness is beyond my understanding and my hopes and desires are not beyond his abilities. 

Isaiah 9:7 

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

Number the Stars

Week 5:

Genesis 15:1-6

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am you shield; your reward shall be very great."  But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"  And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. "  And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."  And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them."  Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 17:1-8

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."  Then Abram fell on his face.  And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.  no longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish my covenant between you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.  And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

I believe this is the season where God is fulfilling His promises like He did to Abraham.  It's the season where we move from glory to glory.  The name Abram means "exalted father" and the name Abraham means father of nations.  God was taking Abraham from glory to glory.  We're coming into a season where the things that satisfied our longings will become unsatisfactory, and we begin to feel a hunger for something bigger, where our only hunger is for Him.  I'm already feeling like where I'm at is not enough and I need to go deeper. His love is calling me deeper.  

He's asking us to "number the stars".  Count them.  Count your dreams, your goals, your desires, the words God has spoken to you, and the promises He has given you.  Count them...and He will multiply them.  When you thing you've counted them all, there's more.  He's calling us to a deeper level.  Think of the stars...there's only a certain depth or layer of the sky that we can actually see.  But hundreds of millions of miles closer there is a whole new layer of galaxies full of unseen stars.  

He's calling us deeper.  

Remember the promises He's given you.  As Abram "believed the Lord, and counted it to him as righteousness," we too can believe in His word as it brings us to right standing with God.  As we choose faith in a word, we are realigning our focus and understanding of God's goodness and because of that we are set in "right standing" or "righteousness" with God.  It's also interesting that in the second passage after God changes Abram's name to Abraham, He said "I have made you the father of a multitude of nations"...not "I will make"...but "I have made".  His word is life!  It's amazing what believing in the goodness of God can do.  So number the stars.  Count His promises.  Count the things He's already done in your life.  It's the year of favor and blessing and we've only scratched the surface.  We're just about to embark on an exciting adventure where God is going to BLOW our expectations!