Word of Encouragement (5/21/2026)
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. (Ps. 27:7-10)
Yesterday, we saw how David’s petitions in vv. 9-10 showed how much he valued God’s presence. He cried out to God in desperation because, for some reason, he could not feel the gaze of God looking down on him. He felt that God had hidden His face from him. He feared that God had turned away from him in anger. Oh, how urgently and earnestly he sought God’s face!
Two things we should glean from this. The first is the urgency with which David sought God’s face. How earnest are we in seeking God’s face? How we read the Bible and pray shows how much (or little) we value God’s presence, doesn’t it? We should not think it “normal” that our minds wander so easily when we read God’s Word, and we drift far and wide into daydreaming when we pray to God. It is as if we would rather do anything else but engage God. What does it say about what we think of God’s honor and glory? How would we feel if someone engaged with us in the way we engage God? And who are we that we should feel so insulted when others don’t give us their full attention? And who are we that we should offend God with such a cavalier and disingenuous attitude toward Him?
What does that say about our condition? Are we so intoxicated by God’s material blessings that we see no need of Him, the Fount of all blessings? Are we so secure in our earthly possessions and social status that we don’t feel the need to seek God’s face? Are we so antinomian to think that God would continue to bless us with everything we need and want, no matter how little we value Him? Do we not know that if God does not discipline us for the error of our ways right away, it is because God is patient and wants to lead us to repentance with His kindness (Rom. 2:4)? And do we not know that “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives…” (Heb. 12:6)?
The second is the greater assurance we have of God’s presence with us in Jesus Christ. When he could not feel God’s presence, he was plunged into an existential crisis. As we have seen, this showed how much he valued God’s presence in his life. But it also showed the shakiness of his assurance. This is not to say that the basis of his assurance was his own righteousness and not God’s covenant faithfulness. But he saw how his predecessor, Saul, was rejected by God. This must have remained over him as a dark, stormy cloud, even though David received a different covenant from Saul’s.
While the basis of our assurance is the same as David’s, ours is greater than his because we have the seal of God’s covenant with us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can say that David’s assurance was based on the promise of God, but ours is based on the fulfillment of God’s promise. This should compel us to enjoy God’s presence all the more and seek it with all earnestness when we don’t feel it.