SEEKING GOD

PART 4 of 8
SEEKING GOD'S FACE: The Characteristics of God

My divorce was an extremely hard time in my life and if I ever needed God, it was then. At that time I was living in a one-bedroom apartment and I’d just made a new commitment to pray with God for one hour each day. Therefore, at 4:00 AM, I crawled out of bed, got dressed, and went to the front room to fellowship with the Lord.

I was praying the Lord’s Prayer and had just hallowed His name. I stood there waiting on His response. When in the distance, a small speck materialized in my mind’s eye. It was like looking at a movie scene filled with theatrical smoke, only in suspended animation.

Suddenly, in one fluid motion, the whole scene seemed to come at me until I could finally distinguish what it was. Although it was still fuzzy in appearance, it continued to grow until there was no question as to its identity, it was the Cross.

The next thing I could see was the face of Christ. He was looking toward heaven. His face was not in the distance, but up close and personal. He was all I could see. Then something happened that I will never forget. It changed my life.

In slow motion, Jesus turned and pivoted His head until He was looking me straight in the eyes. He said, “I love you, Jim.” The presence of God was vibrating in me as I stood there with my eyes closed and looking straight into the eyes of Jesus Christ. Jesus was touching my spirit and His voice reverberated in my soul as I stood there basking in His presence.

As quickly as He’d come, His image began to fade. Then. . .He disappeared. I do not know how long I stood there; I only know that Cecil B. DeMille could not have made this scene any more real than the one that I had just witnessed. How could a face so covered with blood and pain, shine with so much love and compassion? You call it love, love as only God can give.

When we seek God’s face, we are at a “personal” level of relationship. To seek God’s face is not so much to seek what He can do for us but to look at His character and attributes to know who He is on the inside. We are beginning to go into a deeper relationship with Him

After my divorce, I felt lost, alone, and unloved. I knew of only one place where I could get unconditional love: I needed to seek God’s face and tap into His essence; I did not need any provision. All I needed was some understanding and compassion, and maybe a little validation, to know that I was okay and that I was worth loving.

I needed the love of God to cover me, manifest in me, and engulf my being. That morning in my front room, Christ had revealed His face to me big time by telling me something that I really needed to hear amidst my situation – “I love you Jim.”

Although God is understanding, compassionate, and validating, when we seek His face, we really begin to see who God is. When you start seeking the essence of somebody, this is where the relationship really begins to grow. Seeking the essence of God is no different. In retrospect, it is okay to seek God's hands because when we aspire to seek God’s face, we realize that much of who God is. . .IS what He wants to do for us. However, He is so much more.

Not only is God understanding and all those things, but He is our righteousness, our sanctification, and our peace. He is our healer, our provider, our banner, our shepherd, and one who is always there. He is the creator of Earth and the universe; He is the all mighty and powerful God, and the all-sufficient one. Yet, this is still not all of who God is.

He is our resurrection, our savior, our advocate, and the Alpha and Omega. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the Door for the sheep. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is a Father of mercies and God of all comfort, the Prince of Peace, The Bright Morning Star, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is our Lord and our God, He is our life, He is faithful and true, our Maker, and our heavenly Father. He is our hope of glory, our redemption, our foundation, and our Bridegroom. This is still not the full essence of almighty God.

However, in essence, God is Love. Can you imagine not only being a God of love, but actually to be Love? Now, imagine further that you have nobody to love. This is the reason why God created man in the first place, so that Christ could have a bride and the Godhead could have someone on which to lavish their love. You could write a book about who God is. Oops, thirty-nine people already did that. It’s called the Bible.

God’s Word says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

When God comes to heal our land, He does not necessarily mean geographically, although it could mean just that. More times than not it means anywhere you happen to be at that moment, either spiritually, emotionally, physically, or socially. So, when you make yourself available to God’s will (humble yourselves), and pray, He will come and heal you no matter what your status or location, albeit, according to His will.

Remember that God appearing to you in a vision is not necessarily a prerequisite to seeking or knowing who God is. God just blessed me with that experience during a hard time in my life. However, and who knows, if you seek that blessing, He may bless you in the same way. God is no respecter of persons.

If we don’t seek His face and tap into whom God is and not just His provision, then we will lose out on the fullness of God and everything that He has to offer us. Therefore, now that we not only know that God can provide for us and that we can also minister to Him through our works, but we also know part of who God is. Let’s go deeper into our relationship with Him by seeking His heart. This is where true intimacy with God begins.