#24: Face to Face

Have you ever had a young child come running toward you with an amazing story to tell? They come charging in the door yelling, “Guess what!”

You listen for a while, and when you have the gist of the story, you return your attention back to what you were working on. The child still has more of his story to tell, so he continues. But very soon you feel his tiny hands on your face pulling it back to face him, “Look at me. I am still telling you my story!” He wanted face to face attention. He wanted your eyes on him and your undivided attention.

You will never have to try to regain God’s attention, nor will you ever have to remind Him to look at you. He desires a face to face relationship with you.

The mental image of a face to face relationship with your Lord is very comforting, secure and loving. He is not distracted, and He is focused just on you. While many might be praying to Him at a certain point in time, He can just focus on you. Only God can do this.

Psalms 22:19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

Does it feel like you are no longer face to face with your Lord? Did the Lord look away, or did you lose YOUR focus? Being face to face with your Lord takes work on your part. It takes following the right path to remain in that relationship. He does not look away, but you might divert your eyes toward something else that captures your attention. It could be that you get distracted or that you do something that is wrong.

What do children do when they have done wrong? Many of them will not be able to look at their moms in the face. The wrong that they have done has become a barrier to the relationship.

Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

Having a loving fear of your Lord will bring you back to Him when you have done wrong. Just as a child rejoins the face to face relationship with his mother by confession and apology, you rejoin the face to face relationship with your Lord in the same way.

A face to face relationship with our Lord is not guaranteed. It is your decisions that cause your gaze to stray. It is your face that looks away.

In Genesis, Judah is facing a life threatening decision. Because of a great famine, they need the provisions available in Egypt. The keeper of the grain has made some specific demands. At this point, Judah does not recognize the keeper as his brother, Joseph.

Genesis 43:3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

Judah had some decisions to make if he wanted to see the grain-keeper’s face and receive the needed food. This is true for your relationship with the Lord. It is appropriate for the Lord to set expectations for us to be face to face with Him, and these expectations are achievable. You have some decisions to make if you want a face to face relationship with the Lord. You have to decide to turn to Him, you have to decide to be humble, and you have to decide and know that He loves you.Another decision you might have to make is to recognize that the Lord has a job for you to do. Neglecting that job means turning your back on God.

Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Have you forgotten your purpose? Have you gotten distracted and turned away? He desires for you to understand Him and His plan. He will send people before your face to direct you back to Him.

Is the Lord trying to gently take your face in His hands and direct you gaze back to His face and purpose? A face to face relationship with your Lord is possible and reuniting is sweet.

Genesis 43
Psalms 22
Proverbs 24
Mark 1

Have a face to face conversation with your Lord:

Lord, why does my focus stray? What gets my attention away from you?

Lord, who is trying to get me to look back to you?

Lord, am I face to face with you, or has my gaze strayed?

Lord, I want the comfort of a face to face relationship with you. I don’t want my gaze to stray because of decisions I make. Thank you for taking my face in your hands and for bringing my focus back to you.

If you are interested in having a collection of these devotional conversations, consider purchasing the books. They are available from Amazon by clicking here.