Friday, February 11, 2011

Did You Hear That?

To go in search of, image courtesy of lenzlife.wordpress.com

Uphold me with Thy Sweet Spirit;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.
Uphold me with Thy Sweet Spirit;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.

Uphold me, mold me,
Shape me, make me;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.

Appoint me, anoint me,
Choose me, use me;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.

Rebuke me, reprove me,
Chastise me, Lord, revive me;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me
1

When You said,Seek My face,my heart said to You,Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.’"2

God said…

I said…

A marriage of words forged together by love, grace and forgiveness. But these are not mere words that will one day be regretted like those of a couple who no longer love one another. God's love is unfailing! Seeking Him is a thirst that cannot be quenched.

How could my heart speak in earnest to God, had I not listened?

How could I listen, had not God spoke from the depths of His lovingkindness?

I am overwhelmed by the mere fact that God speaks to me. In a world where so many people of influence and importance are aloof to me, God speaks!

Who greater than God, would give audience to my words?

Listening intently to my words; God is not bored by what I say. I’ve sat in meetings that put me to sleep. I’ve seen the glazed eyes of those attempting to listen to what I have to say. I have the ability to speak, but my words don’t always find fulfillment in the ears of my audience.

Not so with God!

He sought me out, when others would have fled from me. He called out when others remained silent.

God said…”Seek My face

What does it mean to Seek? To go in search of: look for. Try to discover.

God said, Go in search of My faceTry to discover My face.

In saying, “Seek My face”, God calls me to come into His presence; to stand in the presence of Almighty God. I must not presume to stand in the presence of someone who is greater than me. I can’t knock on the door of the White House and expect an audience with the President. I can’t go to the local school in my community and expect an audience with the principal; someone representing them will tell me if it is even possible, based on their schedule and my reason for appearing.

God is different. God looked for me. He sought me out and said, “Seek My face”. I am reminded of what Paul wrote in Philippians:

…I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.3

There are things which hinder me in my search of God’s face; things which prevent me from coming into His presence. But the word of God reminds me that I must Press On, I must not stop, quit, or give up who I’m looking for.

Moses saw a burning bush and said:

I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.4

The presence of God ought to stir up my interest in such a way that I would draw nearer to Him. Our God is a consuming fire! Consume me Lord! May my passion for You never be quenched.

How am I to seek You Lord?

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.5

Many times I have gone seeking after something only to experience frustration and discouragement. But I find joy and strength in seeking the Lord.

…Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.6

God said, “Seek My face

My heart cries out to Him, I will seek Your presence at all times Lord, that I would find grace in my time of need.

I can’t seek Him using Bing or Google. My fingers may do the walking in the Yellow Pages, but I can’t seek Him that way either.

How do I seek the face of God?

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.7

Uphold me with Thy Sweet Spirit;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.
Uphold me with Thy Sweet Spirit;
Whatever You do,
Lord, don't take Your joy from me.

Spiritual Sunday'sNote: This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays (hosted by Charlotte and Ginger).
Footnotes:
  1. Uphold Me, from the album Tomorrow, song written by Fred Manns, Marvin Winans, and Ronald Winans
  2. Psalm 27:8, NASB
  3. Philippians 3:12, NASB
  4. Exodus 3:3, NIV
  5. Deuteronomy 4:29, NASB
  6. 1 Chronicles 16:10, NASB
  7. James 4:10, NASB
References:
  1. The Ryrie Study Bible (New American Standard Version), Edited by Charles C. Ryrie, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, ISBN 0-8024-8920-6
  2. The NIV Study Bible, Edited by Kenneth Barker, Donald Burdick, John Stek, Walter Wessel and Ronald Youngblood, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, USA

23 comments:

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK for the Sandwich Generation said...

Thank you for the sweet blessing from these encouraging Bible verses and the lovely lyrics to such pretty praise and worship music. What a blessing for Spiritual Sunday. :)

Sharon said...

Seek and you will find.

Such a sweet promise - especially when it is applied to the seeking of God's face!

I am continually awed by the fact that God chooses to speak to me - and perhaps even more, that He cares to listen to me.

What a wonderful Father we have!

Thanks for sharing this inspirational post, my friend.

And as always, GOD BLESS!

Anonymous said...

Simply beautiful in every way!
Happy Spiritual Sunday! Happy Valentine's Day, too.

Judy said...

Hi MTJ,

Yes, God speaks to us. I believe David said in one of the Psalms that God is the maker of heaven and earth, who is man that He is mindful of him? Awesome isn't it, that God actually speaks to us and loves us and cares about every aspect of our lives. And he beckons us to seek His face and promises we will find it. Just amazing! And even more amazing is that He is speaking to us all of the time. The question is are we listening?

Blessings,
Judy

My Mad World said...

I love that He seeks us out when others flee from us! So glad that we both let Him find us!!

We must press on.. I like that!
and yes we must be interested enough to draw near to Him!

OK.. I will quit quoting you but this post is a GREAT one! Love every single verse and point you have made!!

A giant AMEN brother!!
Love ya!

Nikki (Sarah) said...

He sought me out, when others would have fled from me. He called out when others remained silent. Beautiful words....and I'm so grateful He never gave up....wishing you a great weekend...

Charlotte said...

It is so important that we seek him and "Seek his face." Thank you for this encouraging post.
Blessings,
Charlotte

Musings of A Minister said...

Good post. Thanks for the good words.

Sherry Southard said...

I try to seek God daily. Some days more diligently than other days but I am extremely happy when I feel His presence in my life. We are blessed to have God seek us.
Thank you for a beautiful post. Happy Valentines Day!

Vintagesouthernlife said...

I enjoyed this post. I'm so thankful that God sought me out.
Blessings,
Annette

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

a face that is 'altogether lovely'!

Pamela said...

I haven't heard the song you've posted but I'm going to try and find it. The words are beautiful. The song that came to my mind is:

In the presence of Jehovah
God Almighty, Prince of Peace
Troubles vanish, hearts are mended
In the presence of the King

That's the result of seeking Him--the presence of Jehovah!

Karen said...

Encouraging words. Bless you!

Joan Hall said...

It marvels me that the Creator of the universe is never too busy to listen to my prayers.

Great post!

Blessings,
Joan

Cindy Adkins said...

Thank you SO much for this beautiful message!! It is such a blessing and comfort to the soul. I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday.
Blessings,
Cindy

Renee said...

Thank you for such a great post and so much food for us to digest...Your posts are always so inspirational and educational..God bless.

Virginia said...

Encouraging words.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Sweet Blessings and much LOVE always,
Virginia

Saleslady371 said...

It has always amazed me that God desires to speak to me. His voice never loses its power. It's thrilling!

Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said...

This is a very uplifting and inspiring post. It reminds me of keeping "tuned" to God's Words, which can come through thoughts, readings, nature, or through people. It reminds me of having a humble heart, and open to hear His voice.

"Lord, don't take Your joy from me." I love that line!

Have a wonderful day!

Doris

Anita Johnson said...

What a perfect post to read this morning before i start my day...this line jumped out to me too..."Lord, don't take Your joy from me."
Happy Valentines Day!

Janis Van Keuren said...

"Don't ever take Your joy from me," the prayer of my heart. Beautiful meditation on the Lord's heart of seeking us and rejoicing over us.

Blessings to you and your family.

Janis

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

MTJ, it is such a blessing to read your posts today. God bless you. Lloyd

Glory to God said...

MTJ -

All I can say is, "WOW."

This post speaks to me in such a powerful way. When you said, "Who greater than God, would give audience to my words?", it took me aback. Not in a bad way though.

It truly is amazing that the God of heaven and earth would be interested in little old me. I am so insignificant, but like you said, He sought me out.

This post has definitely been a blessing. It encourages me to really continue to seek God in every area of my life. I just hope I can be consistent in this, as I know God is always.

Thanks MTJ! God bless!
Dean