Pure in Heart Day 12

Today starts the last week of our Pure in Heart study! This week we are going to be tying everything together by discussing how we can humbly seek God. Our verse for today is Psalm 27:8, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

In this Psalm we see a great example of David trusting God whole-heartedly, despite his enemies trying to kill him. I honestly think that the reason David is able to trust God so fully is BECAUSE of his enemies, not in spite of them. David had seen God come through for him and deliver him from his enemies many times, and this was proof for David that he could trust God. David had “battle-tested faith” as I’ve heard others describe. David had been in many situations that tested his faith, and He had seen God come through for him every time. 

We can read about this principle in Romans 5:3-4, which says, “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” When we go through trials where we need to trust in and rely on God, it strengthens our faith because we have seen Him come through for us. 

Back to Psalm 27, we specifically see in verse 8 that God desired fellowship with David. He told David to “seek My face,” because He wanted David to rely on Him and desired a relationship with David. We see this all throughout Scripture where God doesn’t want us to be like robots following all of his rules, but instead wants our hearts to change and He wants us to have a relationship with Him.

Another thing that we can notice from this verse is that David responded immediately. God said “seek My face” and David responds by saying that his heart said “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” David doesn’t show any sign of hesitation on his part, he sought after God right away. I think it’s also interesting to note that David said he “will seek” God’s face, not “I sought.” This is something that is a continual process. We will never be done seeking God, it is something that we need to pursue every day for the rest of our lives if we want a true connection and relationship with Him. 

So what does this look like practically for us, how can we seek God’s face? There are many ways we can do this, but first we have to make sure the posture of our heart is in the right place. When we seek God, we need to do so humbly and out of reverence for who He is. In Psalm 27, David is praising God for who He is and all that He has done, and that is where we need to start.

Praise

“Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in HIs mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to HIs excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbre and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!~
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!”
Psalm 150

When seeking God, we should start by praising Him. This can be through song, prayer, or worship. The important thing is that we acknowledge who God is and all that He has done for us. This helps us to get our hearts in the right place. When we understand who God truly is, we will naturally want to seek Him and follow His will.

Prayer

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of the main ways that we can seek God is by talking to Him. If you want to pursue a relationship with someone here on earth, you have to talk to them in order to get to know them. The same is true for God, if we truly want to seek and pursue Him, we must talk to Him.

Reading the Bible

“But He answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4

God may not audibly talk back to us, but we can read the Words that He has written (through divine inspiration) to us. When we read His Word we can learn about God’s character and see what He is like. We can also learn about what He expects of us and how much He loves us. The great thing about reading God’s Word is that we can never uncover it’s full depth. You could read it every day for 100 years, and you could still get something new every time you read it. 

Worship

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe”
Hebrews 12:28

Another way that we can seek God is through worship. When we worship God, it requires us to bow down in reverence and adoration. This goes back to how we need to be sure that we are coming to God in humility. When we worship Him, it is impossible to do so with a prideful heart, true worship requires us to set ourselves aside and focus on God. 

There are so many other ways that we can seek God’s face. We could memorize Scripture, serve others, fellowship with like-minded believers, and the list goes on. Instead of focusing on all of the possibilities for how we can seek God’s face, I think it’s important to focus on the main idea, and then figure out what works for you. As long as you make time in your day to enter God’s presence with humility and with a desire to learn about Him and draw near to Him, then you will develop a closer relationship with Him. As Jeremiah told the Jewish exiles in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek me with all your heart.”