Face to Face Power
Scripture:
Psa. 31:14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
Observation:
The Psalmist had his moments of difficulty in life and as he struggled he was constantly brought back to his relationship with the LORD. No matter what, he was going to trust in the LORD. No other god would be his salvation — on the true LORD! Too many things were out of his control and so he willingly placed his life in God’s hands. Yes, there were enemies and there were persecutors but he knew that he could trust in God.
David, himself, kept his face turned in the direction of God. He wanted everything that the LORD had for him. As the radiance of God’s glory shone upon him, the very nature of God filled him. This face to face relationship resulted in power infused by holy love. It was an indication of a life to be sanctified to God’s eternal good and in this David found his own salvation.
Application:
It’s easy to get caught up in the situations which surround us and feel as uf they are going to swallow us up. This happens when we take our eyes off of the face of God and onto the things around us. Remember what happened to Peter when he was walking on the water? As long as he looked into the face of Christ the swirling waters could do nothing to him. There was face to face power — that power that radiates from our Lord just when we need him! But when Peter got distracted by the waters and began to look down, he started to sink. There was no power in looking at the rough waters of this world.
Any personal strength which we think we may have will be drained from us when we fixate on everything that is raging around us. We are invited to join with the Psalmist in saying “But I trust in you, O LORD!” In the midst of difficulty we are called to lift our faces to the face of God so that he may shine his face upon us. We don’t have to live in fear of God turning his back on us. He never will! He constantly reaches out to use, welcoming us back toward him and into that powerful face to face relationship. The only reason we lack the power of that relationship is because we turn our back on him — or lower our eyes from his gaze. At that moment our strength becomes sapped.
The beauty of a face to face relationship with God is that it is infused with holy love. This incredible love of the Father is deeper than anything that we can ever begin to imagine and holds us steadfast in the midst of lifes storms and tragedies.
Lift up your eyes. Look into the steadfast and loving gaze of the LORD — and his holy love will pour out like a warm and healing balm. That balm reaches in and brings healing to the deepest wounds of our being and knits us back together with his mighty power, enabling us to be transformed and overflowing with his love out to minister to others. We become agents of his steadfast love through face to face power.
Prayer:
Lord, draw me close to you and strengthen my gaze that I may be empowered by your holy loving presence. Amen.
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