Seeking His Face

Martha, Martha, you are anxious (and worried and upset) about many things, but one thing only is necessary.  Mary has chosen the better part, and it shall not be taken from her.

 

To you, O my heart, He has said, "Seek My Face!"

Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide Your Face from me,

Do not turn your servant away in anger;

You have been my helper (Ps. 27: 8-9).

 

Could we imagine for one moment that we have left behind the earth and gone to heaven -- or, to put it another way -- can we imagine our death?  We know that our spirits will return to God when they leave these mortal bodies, so that is what I want to imagine happening at this moment.

 

Since I'm guessing that most people would have some concerns about heaven/hell/punishment/reward, I'm asking that we set aside those questions and not deal with them here.  Let us assume that we have arrived in heaven, newly sprung from our earthly lives and concerns.  For example, I will take my own life:  at that moment, I can no longer clean my house, worry about the toilets and the kitchen floor that I left uncleaned; I cannot worry about this blog left unwritten for the day, or about the classes I left untaught.  All those things have been left behind, and I have no control over them -- there is nothing left for me to do concerning my earthly concerns and missions. 

 

What do we do now?  If we can answer that question, we have some idea of the Sabbeth, the perpetual sign of the covenant between the Jews and Yahweh.  The book of Hebrews says this:

There remains, then, a Sabbeth-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work (4:9).  A Sabbeth-rest as described by Paul does not necessarily mean we cease all work, just as I am sure Jesus did not necessarily want Martha to stop preparing the dinner.  But He did not want her to be 'anxious' about her work; He wanted her to 'seek His face' without fear and anxiety in whatever she was doing. 

 

Because I write this blog each morning, and because I never know before I pray what I am going to write, occasionally I notice a little anxiousness creeping into my prayer -- maybe there will be nothing to say, after all.  Though I am sure I write because I am supposed to write, though I am sure that the Lord directs me in my writing, still the writing itself cannot become the idol -- the important thing.  I cannot pray for the sake of the writing; I must pray only to seek His Face, even if no writing ever again occurs as a result.  I must trust Him enough to rest from my own 'work' and concerns and just enjoy His presence.

 

While He was on earth, Jesus pulled His disciples away from their mission on occasion to "come apart and rest for awhile:"  Don't think about the work; think about our relationship, our communion -- Seek My Face.  While we are in heaven, we will probably still think about those we have left behind, but now we know that we can do nothing for them -- we will have to seek the Face of God on their behalf.  We will have to read His mind, revel in His thoughts toward those we love.

 

Here is Jesus Calling for March 8  (discovered after my morning prayer, when the Lord called me into His Presence and told me clearly to 'take a Sabbeth'):

 

Save your best striving for seeking My Face.  I am constantly communicating with you.  To find Me and hear My voice, you must seek Me above all else.  Anything that you desire more than Me becomes an idol.  When you are determined to get your own way, you blot Me out of your consciousness.  Instead of single-mindedly pursuing some goal, talk with me about it.  Let the Light of My Presence shine on this pursuit, so that you can see it from My perspective.  If the goal fits into My plans for you, I will help you reach it.  If it is contrary to My will for you, I will gradually change the desire of your heart.  Seek Me first and foremost; then the rest of your life will fall into place, piece by piece.

 

Is there not a great luminosity to this command -- "Seek My Face"?  Is there not a great comfort to the words, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, give thanks"?  What more could we desire than to see His Face and read His thoughts about all of our earthly concerns?  If these were not important to Him, He would have remained in heaven -- but He came to "take up all the causes of my life."  Can we trust that His ways are higher and better than ours?