What does it mean to "Seek the Face of God?" Seeking the face of God means seeking His presence. Psalm 105:4 tells us, "Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" There will be a time when we will be able to see Jesus face-to-face and we will dwell in His presence for all eternity. But right now, while we are still among the living, we must seek Him as we prepare our hearts for His coming glory. Seeking the face of God means seeking to know Him, to hear His voice, to understand His character. We are to seek God's face everyday and all day. We should seek the face of God with everything within us, from our hearts, because seeking the face of God requires your whole heart. This is not something you do half-heartedly. You must seek God's face with the right motive, with purpose, compassion, devotion, with everything within you. We are told, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).
We are to know God. When we talk about knowing God it means to deliberately seek to grow a relationship with Him. To know God is different from just believing in Him, because Satan and all of his demons knows God. Knowing God is a fruit of the Spirit that comes through the process of sanctification. Sanctification literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose." It is the act of being made or becoming holy. Sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart. It is the beginning point of salvation and it continues throughout the believer's life. Sanctification is a process of becoming holy through time.
God doesn't want us to be strangers to Him. John 17:3 says, "Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." There is no greater knowledge. Until our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, we will truly be in the dark, because the unbelieving world is fumbling in darkness and is opposed to God.
There is a huge difference between knowing about God and knowing God. But who is God? God is who He is, no matter how we perceive Him. God identified Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as, "I AM WHO I AM." Also in the Bible, God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). Then in the New Testament, God becomes incarnate, He becomes a human being, revealing Himself more to us. In the Old Testament the people of God had heard the prophesies about the Messiah, translated into Greek as "Christ." The Son of God was named Jesus. Then Jesus is crucified for the sins of the world. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
As we seek the presence of God, we begin to grow in our understanding of God and as we develop a deeper intimacy with Him, we will experience His holiness, power, faithfulness and sovereignty. These describes God's character and they are called God's attributes. What are the attributes of God. An attribute of God is something true about Him. Well, when we talk about the attributes of God, we are usually trying the understand "Who is God and What is God like."
Here are a few attributes of God and what they mean:
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in the spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). His very nature and essence is spirit, and it follows from this, that all true worship must be spiritual. God is without a body, He is not material or composed of parts. He is invisible and the Bible declares Him as a pure spirit. He dwells not in temples made with hands neither does He need anything from man.
God is omnipresent (all-present). God is always present. David said in Psalm 139:7-10, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." God is not an object somewhere in the universe. He is the Creator of all things. God is capable of being everywhere at the same time. His divine presence encompasses the entire universe. There is no location where God cannot inhabit.
God is omnipotent (all-powerful). Omni potent means to have unlimited power. God is almighty and has infinite power. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Revelation 19:6). God's omnipotence is woven throughout the entire Bible from the beginning to the end. God created the entire universe and He holds all power in His hands where He calls things into existence out of nothing is a demonstration of His immense power. There is nothing outside of His ability and there is nothing that over power Him. God not only have all power over the physical realm, but the spiritual realm as well.
God is omniscient (all-knowing). God knows everything, including the past, the present, and the future. Nothing can take God by surprise. His knowledge is total. He knows everything that will occur in this life and the next. He knows our very own thoughts, even before they are formed in our brain. He knows what we will say even before we speak. "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please" (Isaiah 46:9-10).
These attributes describes what is true about God. He has "wisdom" because He is "Wisdom." He has "love" because He is "Love." He creates, because He is the "Creator." He "enlightens" because He is the "Light."
So knowing all of this about our wonderful and awesome God, who would not want to seek the face of God? Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "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." The Lord wants us to spend time with Him and He desires more than anything for us to be in His presence. He promises that if we look for Him we will find Him: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). When you seek the Lord you will always find Him. He is a God who hears prayers. He is a God that bestows favors upon His beloved, granting us His presence, indulging us in communion with Him, and supplying us with fresh grace and everything that we need.
We see the importance of seeking and knowing about God all throughout the Bible. Jesus Himself affirmed in His prayer to the Father by saying, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). How many people really know God, the God who is ALL powerful, ALL knowing, All Mighty? How can the finite know the INFINITE? How can the mortal seek His presence to enjoy a relationship with the only true IMMORTAL God? How can flesh and blood interact with the Eternal Holy Spirit?
But Scripture invites us to experience God:
"Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always" (1 Chronicles 16:11).
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
"God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27).
"Without faith is is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).
"The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God" (Psalms 14:2).
Being a Christian is not just about escaping hell and entering heaven. The Gospel offers a restored relationship with the eternal God. The Gospel is translated as the "Good News." This good news is the story of Jesus Christ and the New Testament. The Gospel represents good news for all of mankind and the reward of salvation that is available only to those who accepts Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, the focus of the Bible is about restored relationships with God. Most of the information in the Bible concerns God's nature and His attributes and it was all communicated in the context of relationships. So please seek the face of God and watch your life become more spiritually elevated.
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